World’s smallest surviving premature baby, weighing just 245g, born in the US

A baby born weighing only 245 grams, the tiniest ever recorded to survive premature birth, has been discharged from a US hospital.

The baby, named Saybie, weighed as much as a large apple when she was born at 23 weeks and three days in December last year.

After being born, she was transferred to an intensive care unit at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital in San Diego, California,

Doctors at the hospital, which disclosed the baby’s birth on Wednesday, said Saybie was so small that she could fit in the palm of the hands of her care team.

She was discharged from hospital earlier in May, five months after birth

Initially, doctors had told Saybie’s parents that she would likely live only a few hours, but she defied all expectations, and was discharged early in May weighing a healthy 2.5kg.

According to the University of Iowa’s Tiniest Babies Registry, Saybie is thought to be the world’s smallest surviving premature baby.

Her mother gave birth to her through an emergency C-section, three months ahead of schedule, after bring diagnosed with preeclampsia - a pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure and damage to another organ system.

Left untreated, preeclampsia can lead to serious or even fatal complications for mother and baby, with the most effective treatment being to deliver the baby.