A baby born prematurely in a Los Angeles hospital has managed to defy all odds and is getting ready to head home with her mami. Born at just 9.5 ounces, little Melinda Star Guido weighed less than a can of soda and was the second smallest baby ever born in the United States. With just 10 percent of all babies born under a pound surviving, doctors weren't sure what the future held for the preemie.
But since she was born at just 24 weeks, Melinda has been gaining weight under the watchful eye of her mami 22-year-old HaydeeIbarra. Ibarra wasn't even able to hold her teeny baby until three months after giving birth to her. We can't imagine how heart wrenching that must have been!
However, things seem to be on the up and up for Melinda, who is being sent home by the neonatal intensive care unit at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center today. The baby girl is very lucky indeed, although she underwent surgery to close an artery, she didn't suffer other more severe complications like bleeding on the brain.
It's an inspirational story and testament to the will to survive that humans have, even at the very earliest stages of our lives. Though doctor's aren't sure what the ramifications of her incredible premature birth might be in the long run, her mami should have hope. Most babies born so prematurely do tend to stay underweight and short for their age, but some like the smallest surviving baby ever born (she weighed just 9.2 ounces) is now a thriving 7-year-old!
Did you have a preemie?
Image via AP
