Infant weighs 8.6 ounces

CHICAGO: A premature infant believed to be the smallest baby ever to survive was called “a great blessing” yesterday by her mother, who is preparing to take the little girl and her twin sister home from the hospital. The baby, named Rumaisa, weighed 244 grammes (8.6 ounces) when she was delivered September 19 at Loyola University Medical Ca, and their Indian-born parents were introduced Tuesday at a news conference at the hospital in suburban Maywood. The girls were wrapped in identical striped blankets. Their mother, Mahajabeen Shaik, said she didn’t “have the words to say how thankful I was” when she first got to hold her children, in their second month.

“It’s a blessing, it’s a great blessing,” said Shaik. Hospital officials said they’re doing so well that Hiba, who weighed 563 grammes (one pound and four ounces) at birth, could be released from the hospital by the end of this month, with Rumaisa following as early as the first week of January. “They’re maintaining their temperature, they don’t need an incubator. They’re taking their bottles. ... They’re normal babies,” said Dr William MacMillan. Rumaisa now weighs 1.18 kilogrammes (two pounds and 10 ounces). Her twin weighs 2.25 kilogrammes (five pounds). Shaik, 23, developed pre-eclampsia, a disorder characterised by high blood pressure and other problems, during pregnancy. The condition affected Rumaisa in the womb and her mother’s health, prompting a Caesarean section at 25 weeks and six days. Normal gestation is 40 weeks.

Shaik and her husband, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, 32, said they are looking forward to bringing their children home. The couple, originally from Hyderabad, India, live in the suburb of Hanover Park. “We want them to be good human beings, good citizens, and she wants them to be doctors,” said Rahman, looking at his wife. “Doctors. Yes, of course, of course,” she said, laughing. Both girls underwent laser surgery to correct vision problems common in premature babies, said MacMillan. Tests have shown that there is no bleeding in Rumaisa’s brain, another common complication in premature infants that can put them at risk for cerebral palsy. Madeline Mann, the previous record holder as smallest known surviving preemie, returned to Loyola Hospital earlier this year for a celebration. Now 15, she was described as a lively honour student, though small for her age, at 1.4 metres (4-feet-7). According to the hospital, more than 1,700 newborns weighing less than 900 grammes (2 pounds) have been cared for there in the past 20 years.