The smallest baby in the world at birth, who weighed only 212 grams, has already left the hospital

(CNN) – A baby who was born weighing just 212 grams, about the weight of a baseball or an apple, left the hospital after more than a year and arrived home.
Kwek Yu Xuan was born almost four months early in Singapore in June 2020, and doctors felt that he had little chance of survival.

But the hospital that housed her for more than a year announced over the weekend that, “against all odds,” she had been discharged in July with a much healthier weight of 6.3 kilograms.

He is believed to be the lightest baby ever born and discharged so he can go home. A Registration managed by the University of Iowa lists a 230 gram child born in Germany in 2016 as the lightest, but the current Guinness World Record is held by a 245 gram American child born in 2018.

Yu Xuan was born by emergency caesarean section with just under 25 weeks gestation, according to the National University Hospital of Singapore in a statement sent to CNN on Tuesday.

A full-term baby is born after about 40 weeks, and newborns usually weigh between 2 and 3 kilos.

Yu Xuan spent 13 months in the center’s neonatal intensive care unit, and had to rely on “multiple treatments and machines” to survive, the hospital said. But they added that the girl was “active, happy and receptive” during her stay.

“A ray of hope in the middle of the storm”

The center described Yu Xuan as “a ray of hope in the midst of the storm,” given that the entirety of Yu Xuan’s extraordinary young life has taken place during the covid-19 pandemic.

“Against all odds, with health complications present at birth, she has inspired the people around her with her perseverance and growth,” the hospital said.

“We are happy for the little fighter and her family, and we are proud of the care provided by our team,” added the hospital in a facebook post. “Our best wishes to little Yu Xuan as she continues to grow, prosper, and beat the odds every day.”

The girl returns home with chronic lung disease and pulmonary hypertension, two conditions commonly associated with extreme prematurity, and her doctors hope she will recover over time, according to the hospital.

The girl’s parents thanked the hospital staff upon discharge.

Yu Xuan’s parents, Kwek Wee Liang and Wong Mei Ling, thanked the hospital staff in the statement. They had initially planned to give birth to Yu Xuan in Malaysia, where her 4-year-old firstborn lives, but the girl’s mother was admitted to hospital and gave birth to the baby after suffering from pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure during pregnancy, a 24 weeks and six days of gestation.

Survival of a child born with less than 400 grams is “very rare”, according to the registry from the University of Iowa. 2016 study revealed that, despite medical advances, a child born before 28 weeks of gestation and weighing less than one kilogram has about a 50-70% chance of survival.

“It has been a difficult journey for Yu Xuan and we greatly appreciate the concerted effort and benevolent support of our colleagues, donors, as well as the community at large, who have contributed to his survival and growth,” said Zubair Amin, Chief and principal consultant for the hospital’s Department of Neonatology. “It has been a team effort that embodies the spirit of caring and compassion.”

– Sasha Chua contributed to this report.