Baby Born Weighing Less Than 1 Lb. Comes Home 9 Weeks After Due Date

A baby who was born weighing just under 1lb. is now thriving and “an extraordinary medical success,” according to the German hospital that cared for her.

The child, whose identity and birth date are being kept private, arrived four months early and was “successfully delivered thanks to state-of-the-art medicine and tireless care,” the University Hospital Magdeburg said in a recent press release.

The hospital said that the average survival rate worldwide for a baby that size is about 25%.

Dr. Ralf Böttger said in a statement that treating newborns of that size “places the highest demands” on all the equipment being used as well as the entire team involved. Some of the tasks required include “ventilation, feeding via infusions, and protecting the sensitive skin and organs,” which requires “an extremely precise and careful approach.”

Although the hospital said there were “no serious complications,” she still spent almost two months on a ventilator before being able to breathe independently.

During their daughter’s hospital stay, her parents remained by her side, providing her “day after day with great love and understanding,” the hospital wrote.

Their baby was able to go home nine weeks after her original due date and is now “healthy and fit.”

The hospital added that their team “continues to support the family.”

The German hospital said they are known locally for having “particularly high survival rates for extremely small premature babies.”

The extremely premature birth is defined as a baby born before 28 weeks, while a premature birth refers to babies born between 28 and 38 weeks, according to the World Health Organization.

Per the organization, preterm birth complications are “the leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age, responsible for approximately 900,000 deaths in 2019.”