As much as we joke about the craziness of Japanese pop culture, Japan has a lot to be proud of. One thing is they have the fourth lowest infant mortality rate in the world. This came in very helpful to a tiny baby born five months ago in Tokyo.
The little boy was born via Cesarean at 24 weeks because he had stopped growing. He weighed 268 grams (just under ten ounces). For comparison, he was the weight an onion, and fit in an adult’s cupped hands.
On February 20th, he went home, healthy, breathing and eating well. This was two months after his initial due date. As far as I can tell, the family’s name has not been released.
Previously, the smallest male preemie to survive was 274 grams, born in Germany in 2009. The smallest girl was also born in Germany in 2015, at 252 grams. Premature girls have a substantially higher survival rate. Doctors are unsure why, but think it may have to due with the rate lung development.
Question of the night–have you ever had to spend time in a hospital?