Tiny US baby goes home

A baby born weighing less than 9oz and believed to be the smallest yet to survive has gone home after nearly six months in hospital.

Rumaisa Rahman’s prognosis “is very good” and she was expected to have normal physical and mental development, said Dr Jonathan Muraskas, who provided care for the tiny girl and her larger twin sister, Hiba, after their births on September 19 at Loyola University Medical Centre outside Chicago.

Rumaisa weighed 8.6oz at birth and measured just 9.5in long. She is now 5lb 8oz and almost 17in long.

She still requires around-the-clock oxygen – common for premature babies with underdeveloped lungs – but will be gradually weaned from the oxygen tank, says Loyola spokesman Stephen Davidow.

Davidow said the parents, Mahajabeen Shaik and Mohammed Rahman, wanted a low-key departure from the hospital for Rumaisa rather than the media fanfare of when they introduced the babies to the world in December.

The babies were delivered by Caesarean section 14 weeks early at just 26 weeks’ gestation after their mother developed pre-eclampsia, involving dangerously high blood pressure.