A baby is typically born at 40 weeks or more. However at National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore, on 9th June 2020 a mother went into premature labour at 25 weeks. This is because she was suffering from Pre-eclampsia. In this condition, the mother’s blood pressure becomes dangerously high. It can damage the organs of the mother and be fatal for the baby as well. Fortunately the baby was successfully delivered. She weighed only 212 grams about the weight of an apple - and measured just 24 cm in length. She became the world’s smallest baby. She was named Kwek Yu Xuan. 

After her birth, doctors said there are very few chances of her survival. She was then admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Treating the baby proved to be very challenging for the doctors. She required medicine that had to be calculated to decimal points. Attaching probes to her body was difficult because her skin was very fragile. However, Xuan fought against all odds to survive. 

Doctors said when Xuan was born Singapore was battling the COVID-19 pandemic. We really did not expect the baby to make it but she fought hard to survive. We are very inspired by the baby’s determination to survive. Yu Xuan was hospitalised for a long period of time and had to depend on various machines to survive. Her parents had raised  approximately Rs 2 crore through a crowdfunding campaign to pay for her long hospital stay. Now after spending 13 months at the hospital, Xuan has been discharged. She now weighs a healthy 6.3 kilograms. While Xuan still suffers from chronic lung disease, doctors expect her to get better slowly. 

Tags

• Small
• baby
• discharged
• preeclampsia

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