New Delhi (Sputnik): India's smallest baby, born weighing 375 grams and named Cherry, has been released from a hospital after two months of grueling medical observations and treatments. Cherry was only 25 weeks into gestation when she had to be taken out of the womb due to a health complication that posed a threat to Cherry's life.
"We finally have our daughter coming home," Nikita, the baby's elated mother, told the media while holding Cherry, now hale and hearty, in her arms as she left the hospital.
Doctors who looked after Cherry for almost four months said there are many babies born at even lower gestation but their weights typically are higher.
"The first week is crucial as babies are most fragile during this time, and she faced several threats such as drops in oxygen and blood pressure. This is a common complication in premature babies as their lungs are not mature, the blood vessels are so thin that they bleed easily," Doctor Natasha Bagga said.
Doctors fed Cherry parenteral nutrition, including fats and amino acids, through a tube inserted into her veins to save her. She had to be kept on a ventilator for 105 days to become normal.
Doctors of the Hyderabad Hospital announced on Thursday that she grew fit to be discharged last week. She weighed almost 2 kg at the time of discharge.