After spending 5 months in hospital wired up to machines, the world’s tiniest baby boy has finally gone home.
The mother wasn’t sure if he would survive. It was really touch and go.
The baby was born in August 2018 and could fit in both palms of an adult’s hands and weighed slightly more than a grapefruit (9.45 ounces).
The hospital had to deliver the baby via an emergency C-section fearing for his life as his weight stopped increasing at 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Dr. Takeshi Arimitsu was the Doctor who treated the baby. He told CNN that when the baby was born, he needed a ventilator for respiratory support as well as an umbilical catheter for infusion therapy.
The infant’s weight breaks the previous record of a German boy who weighed just 9.67 ounces back in 2009.
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According to World Health Organization, an average baby weight is about 7.28 pounds.
Preterm birth cases are not very common in Japan. The rate of infants’ low birthweight “is almost 10% in Japan,” Arimitsu told CNN.
After being in the neonatal ICU for 5 months, his weight increased to 7.1 pounds.
The baby boy is now healthy and was discharged on the 20th of February.
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