Miracle Baby Born at 10 Ounces Goes Home, She’s So Small Doctors Didn’t Know How to Feed Her

National   |   Conor Beck   |   Feb 12, 2016   |   7:10PM   |   Washington, DC

Born 14 weeks early weighing just 10 ounces, E’Layah Faith Pergues is one of the youngest surviving babies ever, and she is finally leaving the hospital for home.

ABC News reports that five months into pregnancy, mother Megan Smith suffered from high blood pressure and almost had two strokes. On Sept. 23, she had to undergo an emergency C-section, and doctors were not sure she would survive delivery, let alone a few weeks. E’Layah Faith was born so early that doctors were not even sure how to feed her.

Dr. Andrew Herman, chief medical officer at Levine Children’s Hospital, which has been treating E’Layah, said: “Our goal since her birth was to grow her as quickly and as safely as we could. We’ve had to fine-tune our approach with E’Layah. We are now feeding her a combination of protein, fat, sugar, electrolytes and vitamins that will help prevent infections, mature her intestines and help her gain weight.”

In a statement to CBS News, Dr. Jessica Clark-Pounder of Levine Children’s Hospital said: “Even our equipment, even our diapers that we have for our smallest babies were too big for her. So, we had to be very creative in taking care of her.”

Despite being born extremely early, E’Layah is functioning well, and is “a very busy little lady, always grabbing and pulling things and moving around,” Smith told ABC.

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Now in her Charlotte, North Carolina home, E’Layah weighs 5 pounds, 7 ounces and is quickly outgrowing her preemie clothes, the report states.

Smith commented, “She pays attention to her surroundings, she knows her mom’s voice, she knows her dad’s voice… and I’m amazed she has come this far.”

In 2015, LifeNews reported on a study that showed active life-saving care for premature babies increases their chance of survival, and more very premature babies are surviving outside the womb than ever before. However, not all hospitals provide such care for babies that are very premature. Distressingly, the hospital that a premature baby is born at can seriously affect his or her chances for survival, according to the report.

Smith told Fox 46 at Charlotte, “She fought to be here.” Unfortunately, not all babies have that chance. E’Layah is proving that when given a chance, premature babies can thrive.

“We pray for her strength,” Smith said. “E’layah is our miracle baby girl.”

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