On August 1, 2023, doctors at the Affiliated Renhe Hospital of China Three Gorges University delivered a baby at 24 weeks and three days of pregnancy. She was the lightest baby the hospital has successfully treated to date, weighing only 550 grams (1.21 pounds) and measuring only 11.8 inches at birth.
Xiang Jinbo, deputy director of the hospital’s neonatology department, told China Daily that the baby was given the nickname “Little Pea” by the medical staff. The news outlet reported that she was so small her legs were as “thin as an adult’s pinky finger, and her skin as delicate as a cicada’s wings.”
Little Pea was unable to breathe independently when she was born, so doctors performed a tracheal intubation, which saved her life. She was moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where medical providers gave her round-the-clock respiratory, nutritional, and other life support.
On September 22, 2023, after one month in the NICU, Little Pea was able to breathe with non-invasive respiratory support and weighed 2.20 pounds.
After four very challenging months of continuous care from the medical team, Little Pea’s weight had increased to 6.1 pounds, which is over five times her birth weight. She also measured 18.8 inches long. Reaching the necessary milestones, the littlest premature baby ever treated in Yichang was discharged from the hospital.
READ: ‘Just in time’: Baby delivered prematurely to save her life is now thriving
Yang, the mother of the baby, was able to spend Christmas with her new daughter at home thanks to the tireless work of the hospital staff. She told China Daily, “We are grateful to the doctors and nurses, without whom we wouldn’t be here with our baby in good health.”
Extremely premature babies like Little Pea are now much more likely to survive. In 2019, the survival rate for babies born at 23 weeks doubled, prompting a new framework for practice from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM).
According to research, in 2020 and 2021, there were a total of 261 babies, born prematurely at 22 and 23 weeks, who survived and were eventually discharged from the hospital. Sadly, government abortion statistics also show that in 2021 alone, there were 1,054 babies aborted at 22 and 23 weeks gestation.
Catherine Robinson, Spokesperson for Right to Life UK, said, “Congratulations to Little Pea for making it home in time for Christmas and to the staff who cared for her so well. It is amazing to see how tiny premature babies are surviving earlier and earlier. Stories like this remind us of how precious these little lives are and provide hope that more babies born early can be saved.”
