A baby in Scotland who was born at just 25 weeks, weighing 1.6 pounds — as much as a bag of chips — has finally made it home after a four-month stay in the hospital, just in time for Christmas.
A recent story in Metro UK details how Kimberley Melvin went into labor 15 weeks early with her daughter, Freya-Rose. Because she was born so prematurely, the little girl had a lot of health complications, and doctors said she had just a 30% chance of survival. The Daily Mail reports that during her long hospital stay, Freya-Rose also became ill with sepsis and a blood infection and that she continues to have a lung condition that needs to be monitored. Still, she was able to finally leave the hospital last week weighing a healthy six pounds 5 ounces.
Kimberley said she didn’t think she would be able to get pregnant due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and she found out that she was expecting Freya-Rose only by accident. “I went for an ultrasound for the purpose of getting a cyst removed and I discovered there was a baby in there – four weeks into the pregnancy,” she said. “We were overjoyed by the news.”
READ: ‘No place in civilized society’: The truth about abortions at 15 weeks
When she was 25 weeks pregnant, Kimberley started bleeding and thought she was having a miscarriage. She rushed to the hospital and was then transferred to Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow, where Freya-Rose was born a short time later.
Kimberley and her partner, James Gallacher, credit the medical staff at the hospital for taking such good care of their daughter. “The doctors and nurses were outstanding. They save a life and then they crack on like it’s nothing,” said James.
“She’s just like a newborn baby. It was the best Christmas present when she came home,” Kimberley said.
While doctors gave little Freya-Rose just a 30% chance of survival, micro-preemies just like her are surviving younger than ever thanks to advancements in science and medicine. In 2020, there were two Guinness World Record holders for the youngest babies ever to survive — Richard Hutchinson was first born on June 5 at 21 weeks and two days, only to be outdone just a month later by Curtis Zy-Keith Means, who was born at 21 weeks and one day.
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