One of the world’s smallest surviving babies was discharged on Friday from the hospital where she spent nearly five months in an incubator — but not before getting the Hollywood treatment.
Wearing a pink knit hat and wrapped in a pink princess blanket, Melinda Star Guido was greeted by a mob of television cameras and news photographers outside the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
“I’m just happy that she’s doing well,” said her 22-year-old mother, Haydee Ibarra. “I’m happy that I’m finally going to take her home ... I’m just grateful.”
Melinda was born on Aug. 30 weighing just 269g, less than a can of soda. She was so tiny that she fit into her doctor’s hand. Melinda is believed to be the world’s third-smallest surviving baby and second smallest in the US.
Now weighing 2.04kg and breathing through an oxygen tube as a precaution, doctors said Melinda had made enough progress to go home. Her brain scan was normal and her eyes were developing well. She also passed a hearing test and a car seat test that’s required of premature babies before discharge.
It’s too early to know how she will do developmentally and physically, but doctors planned to monitor her for the next six years.
“I am cautiously optimistic that the baby will do well, but again there is no guarantee,” said Dr Rangasamy Ramanathan, who oversees premature babies at the hospital.
Most babies as small don’t survive even with advanced medical care. About 7,500 babies are born each year in the US weighing less than 0.45kg, and about 10 percent survive.
Melinda has come a long way since being delivered by cesarean section at 24 weeks after her mother developed high blood pressure during pregnancy, which can be dangerous for mother and fetus.
She was whisked to the neonatal intensive care unit where she breathed with the help of a machine and received nutrition through a feeding tube. Infants born before 37 weeks are considered premature.
Even after discharge, such extremely premature babies require constant care at home. Their lungs are not fully developed and they may need oxygen at home. Parents also need to watch out for risk of infections that could send infants back to the hospital. Even basic activities like feeding can be challenging.
“They may need extra help and patience while they learn to eat,” said Edward Bell, a pediatrician at the University of Iowa who runs an online database of the world’s smallest surviving babies born weighing less than 1 pound (0.45kg).
The list features 130 babies dating back to 1936 and does not represent all survivors since submission is voluntary. Melinda was not eligible to be included until she was discharged.
Two years ago, Bell published a study in the journal Pediatrics that found many survivors have ongoing health and learning concerns. Most also remain short and underweight for their age.
There are some rare success stories. The smallest surviving baby born weighing 260g and is now a healthy seven-year-old and another who weighed 280g at birth is an honors college student studying psychology, according to doctors at Loyola University Medical Center in Illinois where the girls were born.
Soon after birth, Melinda was treated for an eye disorder that’s common in premature babies and underwent surgery to close an artery. Ibarra held Melinda for the first time after the operation in November.
Her parents said the toughest part was battling traffic after work every day to see their daughter.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of