A premature baby born at 23 weeks of pregnancy weighing 500g survived four major surgeries and was discharged in good health after 171 days in the hospital.
The Catholic Univ. of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital said on the 17th that Lee Ju-ha, who had received intensive care in the neonatal intensive care unit for about six months, returned home on the 8th.
The mother, Kwon Gye-hyeong, was rushed to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in an emergency after unexpected preterm labor in Sep. last year. Through an emergency cesarean section, Lee saw the light of the world at 23 weeks and 1 day of gestation. Babies born before 24 weeks, far short of the typical 40-week pregnancy, are known to have very low survival rates.
Born about four months earlier than the due date, Lee could not breathe on her own because her alveoli had not yet formed. Her trials continued as she began treatment relying on a ventilator in the neonatal intensive care unit. At 12 days old, she underwent open abdominal surgery for intestinal obstruction and had to endure a total of four surgeries under general anesthesia, including treatment for retinopathy of prematurity and a stoma reversal. The mother, Kwon, delivered expressed breast milk every day and waited for the child's recovery.
Surviving critical moments surrounded by numerous medical devices, Lee was discharged without serious neurological complications, weighing 3.85 kg—more than seven times her birth weight. That exceeds the average weight of a full-term newborn, 3.2–3.3 kg.
Kwon said, "Every moment spent in the neonatal intensive care unit felt like a miracle. As time passed, I felt that babies are much stronger than we think." Lee Ju-ha's father, Lee Jeong-min, also expressed thanks, saying, "It is thanks to the medical staff that the child, once only the size of a palm, has grown so healthy."
Pediatrics professor Kim Se-yeon, Lee's attending physician, said, "The key to treating extremely low birth weight premature infants is to closely observe changes in the condition of vulnerable organs and minimize aftereffects through immediate intervention when problems arise," adding, "This treatment was made possible by the neonatal intensive care team's around-the-clock, gapless care and dedicated efforts at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital."