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‘Miracle baby’ leaves Miami
hospital
BY A CORRESPONDENT
February 26, 2007:
A baby girl, said to have spent the
shortest time in her mother’s womb,
was discharged on Tuesday from a
hospital in Miami, Florida, the United
States, where she was born.
Amillia Taylor is believed to be the
first baby to have survived following
a gestation period of less than 22
weeks.
She weighed a mere 10 ounces (284
grams) at birth on October 24, 2006.
Doctors generally consider that babies
born weighing less than 14 ounces
(400g) at birth stand no chance of
survival.
At the time of her birth at the
Baptist Children’s Hospital, Amillia
measured 9.5 in (241 mm) – about the
length of a ballpoint pen.
She spent a little under 22 weeks in
her mother’s womb, a world record
according to the University of Iowa,
which keeps track of premature babies
born throughout the world.
Initially, doctors held little hope
for her survival.
“She’s truly a miracle baby,” Dr
William Smalling, neo-natal expert at
the Baptist Children’s Hospital, said.
“We weren’t too optimistic, but she
proved us all wrong,” he said.
Amillia has experienced respiratory
problems, a very mild brain
haemorrhage and some digestive
problems, but doctors now say her
“prognosis is excellent.”
Her parents named her Amillia, which
means ‘resilient’ in Latin – a fighter
and hardworking – to reflect her
survival against the odds.
“It was hard to imagine she would get
this far. But now she is beginning to
look like a real baby,” Sonja Taylor,
Amillia's mother, said. “Even though
she is only four pounds (1.8 kg) now,
she is plump to me,” the mother
remarked.
Sonja said the worst thing for her had
been not being able to hold her baby
for more than six weeks after the
child was born.
On Tuesday, Amillia went home after
spending nearly four months in the
hospital’s neo-natal intensive care
unit, where her every move was
monitored 24 hours a day.
Doctors say she will still have to be
monitored closely after her discharge
from the hospital, requiring asthma
medication and extra oxygen for months
to come, as she still weighs less than
4lb 6oz (2 kg).
Amillia’s survival demonstrates the
dramatic advances in neo-natal care in
recent years, according to experts.
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