When Saybie was born as a premature baby girl, she only weighed just as much as a particularly large apple.
Weighing a mere 245 grams or 8.6 ounces, she was born at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns in San Diago, California in December 2018.
After five months in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Saybie, a nickname given to her by hospital staff, was finally released from the hospital in the middle of May 2019, according to a news release from Sharp Mary Birch.
By the time her parents took her home, she weighed 5.6 pounds or 2.5 kilograms.
The World's Tiniest Baby Ever
A typical pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks. However, due to Saybie's mother experiencing severe pregnancy complications, doctors had to perform an emergency cesarean section 23 weeks and three days into the pregnancy.
With her weight, Saybie is officially the world's smallest newborn ever to survive, according to the Tiniest Babies Registry by the University of Iowa. The previous smallest baby was born in Germany in 2015 and weighed 7 grams more than Saybie.
Initially, the family was warned about the risks with doctors telling them they only have an hour with Saybie. Their baby girl survived, though, and the hour stretched into hours, days, and weeks.
"No one expects their baby to be born with complications," explained Trisha Khaleghi, senior vice president and chief executive officer at Sharp Mary Birch. "But when the unexpected occurs, Sharp Mary Birch is equipped with the latest technologies, equipment, research and specially trained experts to care for even the world's smallest baby."
About Micro Preemies
Babies who are born before 28 weeks of gestation are known as micro preemies. These infants weigh extremely light and are very fragile, often facing long stays in the NICU section of the hospital.
According to Very Well Family, the earlier a micro preemie is born, the lower their chances of survival become. Born at 23 weeks, like Saybie, only 50 to 66 percent of babies survive.
While there are plenty of immediate medical conditions that doctors and parents need to watch out for after the birth of micro preemies, there are also a number of potential long-term health issues.
Cognitive problems occur in 40 percent of micro preemies, while 10 percent go on to have moderate to severe cerebral palsy. Other long-term health problems include respiratory problems, digestive issues, and vision or hearing loss.
