Born Weighing 260 Grams And High Risk, The Smallest Baby Ever Born In South Korea Grows Healthyly

JAKARTA - Lee Ye-rang, a baby born with the lowest weight in South Korea, was discharged in good health on November 5, according to the Samsung Medical Center.

Ye-rang, who weighed only 260 grams at birth on April 22, had a weight of 3.19 kilograms when he was sent home six months later. He can also breathe on his own without the help of a mechanical device.

Ye-rang was born three years after his parents got married, but stopped growing after the 21st week of pregnancy, quoted from The Korea Times 27 November.

The mother is in a precarious situation, with her blood pressure soaring, while also showing symptoms of liver disease and pregnancy disorders such as preeclampsia, hypertension that endangers her mother and baby.

High-risk medical teams, including professor Oh Soo-young of the Department of Midwives and Gynecology at the hospital and clinical instructor Ham Soo-ji, are preparing for a safe birth by providing magnesium to relieve symptoms of the baby's mother.

Ye-rang was born through caesarean section on April 22, four days after her mother was hospitalized. Immediately after birth, he needed intensive care, such as ventilator and antibiotic treatment, due to respiratory failure and septic shock.

The rehabilitation medical department performs oral and sporting rehabilitation treatment every day, and the baby recovers over time.

It is known, a person born with a weight of less than 300 grams has a survival rate of less than 1 percent.

"Ye-rang will be a hope for all premature babies with low weight born in the future," said Jang Yoon-sil, head of the hospital.

"We need everyone's attention and support to find more chances to save lives, even beyond medical limitations," he said.