Print

Mail

wiki links

`Palm baby' goes home

A doctor at the China Medical College Hospital holds four-month-old Little Ching Ching, who was released from hospital yesterday. The baby was born weighing barely more than half a kilogram. She now weighs 3kg. PHOTO: HSU HSIA-LIEN, TAIPEI TIMES

A baby girl in Taichung went home from the hospital yesterday, four months after she was born weighing barely more than half a kilogram.

"Little Ching-ching" (小晴晴) was so tiny upon birth that the obstetricians at the China Medical College Hospital (CMCH) nicknamed her the "palm baby." She was the smallest baby ever born at the hospital.

Little Ching-ching was born 15 weeks premature after doctors were forced to perform a Caesarean section because her mother was suffering from acute eclampsia, a condition potentially fatal to the mother and the baby.

Obstetricians at first were uncertain whether the baby would make it because of her size and problems common to premature infants, including respiratory distress syndrome, septicemia and lung disorder.

The doctors were more enthusiastic than the mother about trying to help the baby survive, encouraging Chen not to lose hope.

Over 120 days later, the "palm baby" now weighs 3kg and was healthy enough to be sent home.

Hospital doctors also pointed to the love and perseverance shown by the mother as another primary factor in the baby being able to survive and grow.

The mother visited the hospital every day to hold her baby for several hours.

The mother said she lovingly caressed her child with her hands and at the same time talked to Little Ching-ching, telling her that she was going to grow up healthy.

"I believe she heard me," the mother said.
This story has been viewed 2299 times.