Baby Roux Maskery became the little miracle that her parents desperately hoped for this year.
Her mother, Emma Maskery, of Lincolnshire, England, had six miscarriages before giving birth to Roux in September.
The Mirror reports Roux nearly died, too, when she was born three months prematurely, barely bigger than an iPad. She weighed just 1 pound, 13 ounces. But the infant fought through several close calls and now is doing well.
Doctors delivered the tiny baby girl on Sept. 16 after her mother developed a life-threatening condition called preeclampsia, according to the report.
“I didn’t know anything about prematurity in babies and they [the medical staff] had tried to prepare us with books – but I didn’t read them,” Emma Maskery said. “I prepared myself by staying positive and telling myself she would be ok. The nurses were great as well – they were constantly reassuring us and were really, really positive.”
The little girl struggled to survive for weeks after her birth, but by nine weeks, doctors said she was well enough to go home.
The family returned to the hospital just a few days later, though. Her parents said they noticed that Roux was struggling to breathe. They rushed her to the hospital where doctors diagnosed her with bronchitis. Roux stopped breathing at one point, causing her parents to panic. But once again, the little infant fought through the illness and recovered, according to the report.
Maskery said their daughter is five months old now and doing well.
“The hardest part was not knowing and waiting. I had six miscarriages before falling pregnant with Roux, so she was my miracle,” her mother said.
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Recent technological advancements are helping more premature babies survive and thrive.
A Duke University study published in January reported that babies born at just 23 weeks gestation are surviving outside the womb at a greater rate than ever before. Researchers examined 4,500 babies between 2000 and 2011 and found a “small but significant drop in fatalities for babies born between 23 and 37 weeks gestation,” as well as a decrease in premature babies manifesting neurophysiological problems, the Daily Mail reported.
Last year, the journal Pediatrics highlighted a baby girl in the United States who survived after being born 21 weeks and four days after conception. The girl, who now is 3, is believed to be the youngest premature baby to survive.
