The world’s tiniest baby to survive was released from the hospital five months later as a relatively healthy five-pound child

BABY GIRL SAYBIE DURING APRIL 2019 WHEN SHE WAS FOUR POUNDS; SHE WEIGHED ONLY 8.6 OUNCES WHEN SHE WAS DELIVERED BY C-SECTION

The baby’s mother was just over 23 weeks in her pregnancy. Saybie was about the size of an apple when she was born.

Photo Credit: Sharp Mary Birch Hospital

Saybie was born during December 2018 at a San Diego hospital weighing only 8.6 ounces and was not expected to live for more than one hour.  Five months later she was discharged from Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns as a relatively healthy five pound, six ounce infant at a height of about 16 inches.  Saybie is said to be the world’s smallest surviving newborn.

The child was born 23 weeks and three days into her mother’s 40-week pregnancy. Saybie’s mother commented on being told that her baby only had about one hour to live: “That hour turned into two hours, which turned into a day, which turned into a week.”

Dr. Paul Wozniak, a neonatologist at the San Diego hospital, explained that with small babies like Saybie the first hurdle is simply making sure they get a chance to breathe due to their underdeveloped lungs. The placement of an extra-small breathing tube was essential.

“When it went right in, oh, my God, it was instant relief,” Dr. Wozniak said.

Saybie’s mother does not want to be named.  However, she gave the hospital permission to share Saybie’s story.

Dr. Edward Bell, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Iowa, confirmed that Saybie is the world’s smallest baby ever to survive as recorded in the Tiniest Baby Registry maintained by his university.

“We cannot rule out even smaller infants who have not been reported to the Registry,” Dr. Bell said.

Saybie weighed seven grams less than the previous tiniest baby born in Germany in 2015.

Saybie’s mother was suffering from preeclampsia, which causes very high blood pressure, when she was admitted to Mary Birch hospital.  The facility is the largest maternity hospital in California.

“I kept telling them she’s not going to survive, she’s only 23 weeks,” Saybie’s mother said.

But Saybie began putting on weight in the neonatal intensive care unit and reached the one-pound mark at about one-month-old.  A pink sign was placed by Saybie’s crib that read “Tiny but Mighty.”

Because Saybie was born  as a “micro preemie” she is likely to face many challenges such as vision, hearing and developmental issues.

A NURSE HOLDS SAYBIE AT THE HOSPITAL

Saybie increased her birth weight 10-fold before being discharged

Photo Credit: AFP