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Third Smallest Baby in the World Thriving at County-USC
Photo by GraceFamily via Flickr
Melinda Star Guido is one of the smallest babies in the world to survive a premature birth. Delivered by cesarean at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center over the summer when she was just 24 weeks old, Guido weighed 9.5 ounces and was tiny enough to fit in the palm of doctor's hands, reports the AP.
It's unusual for infants that small to survive, but after several surgeries and constant care in the NICU, Guido is now four pounds and growing, and she's opening her eyes, gripping her mom's hand and breathing on her own.
According to records, Guido is the third smallest baby in the world to make it through the challenges of a premie's first few months. The smallest weighed in at just 9.2 ounces, and is now a thriving seven-year-old.
Doctors are hoping to send Guido home by New Year's.
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