The smallest baby ever to survive in Australia was discharged from a Queensland hospital recently, after a birth and survival story that is being called 'miraculous.'

Key Takeaways:

• Makerita Miracle Tanuvasa, known as Miracle, was born at 21 weeks 3 days.

• At birth, she weighed as much as a can of Coke.

• She is Australia's youngest surviving premature baby.

The Details:

Annrose Tunavasa told The Age that from the beginning, her daughter's life was a miracle.

Annrose had gone to the doctor in March expecting to be told she was four or five weeks pregnant. Instead, an ultrasound revealed she was more than halfway through a pregnancy.

“I went to do an ultrasound and the sonographer told us that we were about 22 weeks pregnant,” she said. “I said, ‘that’s impossible’.”

Annrose told the doctor she had miscarried a baby in December. “She said, ‘Well, maybe you had a twin, and you miscarried the twin… you’ve got to go to the hospital and you’ll be staying there until you give birth.’”

EXCLUSIVE: Meet Australia’s most premature baby who survived against all odds | 9 News Australia

On March 25, five days after Annrose learned she was pregnant, Makerita Miracle Tanuvasa was born. Known by her middle name, Miracle, she measured 30.5 centimeters long and just 351 grams, about the size of a can of Coke.

“We weren’t able to hold her, but she was very, very small,” Miracle's father, Misi Tunavesa, said.

“I took one look at her and I was like, ‘There’s no way she’s gonna make it,’” recounted Annrose.

Even doctors were shocked at Miracle's small size, given that ultrasound scans estimated her weight around 500 grams.

“A week later the doctor came in to see me, and she said, ‘She’s just not matching the scans that you came in with, she doesn’t match that baby.'”

Doctors analyzed Annrose's ultrasound pictures from her previous miscarriage, and determined that little Miracle was indeed from the same pregnancy.

Though Annrose's pregnancy was initially estimated to be 22 weeks, doctors later determined that Miracle was actually born at 21 weeks 3 days, making her the smallest preemie ever to survive Australia.

Because of her extremely small size, Miracle had to spend 14 weeks in the hospital before she was able to go home with her family.

“Even the doctors couldn’t explain how she was able to survive everything she's gone through," Misi said. “It was just like she was here to fight."

The Bottom Line:

At one time, it would have been unthinkable that a baby as small as Miracle could survive outside the womb. Yet modern medical advancements are making these extraordinary stories of survival more common.

"It's quite a miracle," nurse Renee Judd told Nine News. "Hence the name, Miracle."