The medical advances and their ability to save the lives of premature children will not surprise me. And it is that every day new miracles occur at earlier ages.
One of those wonderful cases is that of Ryusuke Sekino. He was born in Japan, at 24 weeks and five days of gestation. It weighed 258 grams and measured 22 centimeters.
That happened on October 1, 2018, when Toshiko, his mother, went to the Nagano Children's Hospital of Azumino and had an emergency caesarean section because of his hypertension. Yesterday, almost seven months later, the smallest baby born so far, left the hospital and he could go home with his family.
In Babies and more Born prematurely, an arrival in the world ahead of time for which no one is preparedBreastfed
When Ryusuke was born, the medical staff of the children's hospital kept him in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They fed him half a catheter and even offered breast milk in cotton soaked with it.
Almost seven months later, the baby has grown thirteen times in weight, and now weighs more than three kilograms. And that, as Dr. Takehiko Hiroma informed the Kyodo News, "There were difficulties during treatment because, immediately after birth, your blood vessels were too thin to administer intravenous drip."
His mother also commented that "When he was born, he was so small, it looked like he was going to break just by touching him. I was very worried." Now he recognizes that he feels happy to see him grow because "Drink milk. We can give you a bath".
Nor could his father, Kohei Sekino, hide his happiness when he left the hospital where he declared: "I didn't expect that I could see him out so fast."
Other cases of large premature babies in the world
With 258 grams, this kid lowered the low-weight record that another Japanese boy had until birth at 10 grams: he weighed 268 grams when he was born last year in Tokyo and was discharged from Keio University Hospital in February.
In Babies and moreThe story of "Emilín the warrior", a great premature of 23 weeks of gestation that has come forward without sequelaeThe smallest surviving girl in the world was born in Germany in 2015, weighing 252 grams, according to a record prepared by the University of Iowa about these large premature babies.
And, as the news agency reports, the survival rate of newborns under 300 grams increases but remains low, especially when it comes to a child.
These babies should, in any case, receive special medical attention at least during their first years. They are called extreme premature or large premature, born before the 28th week of gestation.
Every year 15 million premature babies are born in the world (before the 29th week of pregnancy) and, specifically in Spain, one in every 13 babies arrives in the world ahead of time.
Luckily, thanks to advances in neonatology, the survival rate of those born before the 28th week of gestation is 65%, and 95% for those born later, placing our country in the world elite in this field.
Via and photos | Kyodo News
