World’s Smallest Baby Boy Weighing 268 Grams Sent Home Healthy
According to the Keio University in Tokyo, the boy was born through an emergency caesarean section in August as his weight did not increase at 24 weeks gestation and doctors determined his life was in danger.
Tokyo, February 27: A baby weighing just 268 grams at birth, touted as the "smallest boy" in the world, has been released from hospital here, after growing to a weight of 3,238 grams in an advance that offers hope to babies with very low birth weight. According to the Keio University in Tokyo, the boy was born through an emergency caesarean section in August as his weight did not increase at 24 weeks gestation and doctors determined his life was in danger, The Japan Times reported on Wednesday.
He left the hospital last Wednesday, two months after the initial due date, weighing 3,238 grams, the report said. Babies born weighing below 1,000 grams are likely to suffer heart failure, have difficulty breathing or acquire severe infectious diseases due to their underdeveloped organs.
The previous record holder was born weighing 274 grams in Germany in 2009, the university said, citing the University of Iowa's registry for the world's tiniest babies. The smallest girl was born weighing 252 grams, also in Germany, in 2015.
There had been 23 babies worldwide who survived after having been born prematurely and weighing under 300 grams, out of whom only four were boys, according to the Tiniest Babies Registry website.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2019 09:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).