A tiny Idaho baby girl is thriving after she was born four months prematurely in March.
Little Rainna Crabb was born on March 13 at just 24 weeks gestation, The Twin Falls Times-News reports. Thanks to modern medical advancements, Rainna and very premature babies like her are surviving at greater rates than ever before.
Rainna’s aunt, Kindra Perez, told the newspaper that her niece is a “little fighter.” In April, she underwent heart surgery to fix a hole in her heart, Perez said.
“That’s when she started gaining weight and thriving, after” the surgery, Perez said.
Rainna weighed 1 pound, 1 ounce at birth; since then her weight has doubled to about 2 1/2 pounds, according to the report.
Her parents, Samantha and Steven Crabb, of Hansen, are staying with her at the hospital while she recovers. It is unclear when Rainna will be well enough to go home, but very premature babies typically spend several months in the hospital.
Viability for a baby in the womb generally is considered to be about 24 weeks, but a growing body of research suggests babies can survive even earlier because of modern medical technology.
Earlier this year, a study out of Duke University found that more premature babies are surviving at 23 weeks. The researchers 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 with neurophysiological problems, the Daily Mail reported.
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In April, researchers also published a new study about artificial wombs, which could help very premature babies to survive in the future. The scientists said the artificial wombs helped premature animal babies to develop normally; they were about the equivalent age of a human baby between 22 weeks and 23 weeks.
LifeNews has highlighted many of these tiny babies’ stories over the years. For example, in August 2014, Isla Allen was born at 24 weeks and weighed 1 pound, 7 ounces. After she was born, her heart stopped five times and she fought deadly conditions including sepsis, lung diseases, blood infections and a bleed on the brain. But Isla fought through these obstacles and, by five months, was well enough to be released from the hospital.
Baby Connor is another example. He was born at 23 weeks and two days, weighing 1 pound, 2 ounces. When he was born, Connor was covered from the neck down in a liquid-filled freezer bag to improve his chances of surviving. Connor had three operations for a perforated bowel and suffered from fungal meningitis, chronic lung disease and a bleed to the brain.
Nevertheless, he survived; and in response to his survival, his mother, Rachel Crockett, decided to share his story to urge people to question the legality of abortions on babies his age.
