World’s Smallest Baby Born In Japan

Keio University in Tokyo revealed Tuesday that a baby with a birth weight of 268 grams had been released from care at its hospital after growing to a weight of 3,238 grams, becoming the smallest boy in the world to be sent home healthy.

The boy from Tokyo was born through an emergency cesarean section in August as his weight did not increase at 24 weeks gestation and doctors determined his life was in danger, the university said.

The baby was so small at birth that he could fit in a pair of hands. Through neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital, and managing his breathing and nutrition, the baby steadily grew and was able to be breastfed. He left the hospital last Wednesday, two months after the initial due date.

According to the Tiniest Babies Registry website, there had been 23 babies worldwide who survived after having been born prematurely and weighing under 300 grams.

Normally, 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.

“I can only say I’m happy that he has grown this big because honestly, I wasn’t sure he could survive,” the boy’s mother said, according to Tokyo’s Keio University Hospital.