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Born weighing just 3 pounds in 1924, great-grandmother now celebrating her 100th birthday

A lady who was born in 1924 weighing just 3 pounds has celebrated her 100th birthday in Mandurah, Australia.

Emma Smoker was born in 1924 weighing just 3lb, or around 1.3kg. At the time, there were no neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) for premature infants. 

Children born weighing less than 2.5kg, or 5.5 pounds, are defined by the World Health Organisation as having “low birth weight”, and those with a weight of less than 1.5kg are referred to as having “very low birth weight”. 

“They kept her in cotton wool by their chest”, her sister Joy Blinco said. “She was such a tiny thing”.

Mrs Smoker was nicknamed “Bambi” by her parents due to her small size at birth.

Her family has a history of long lifetimes

At her 100th birthday celebration, Mrs Smoker said it was “overwhelming” to see so many friends and relatives. Guests included four of her seven siblings, aged between 82 and 92.

“I never thought I’d reach 100”, she said. “I’m pretty good. I don’t feel 100, I feel well in myself”.

The average life expectancy for women in 1924 was 68 years old, but Mrs Smoker’s mother lived to 95 years old and her aunt lived to 94.

She now has thirteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. 

Survival rates have improved for prematurely born infants

Survival rates for children born prematurely, often with a low birth weight like Mrs Smoker’s, have improved significantly over the last few decades. A 2008 study looking at survival rates for a neonatal intensive care unit in London found that neonatal survival rates at 22 and 23 weeks gestation had improved over time. In 1981-85, no babies who were born at these gestational ages survived to discharge. However, by 1986-90, 19% did and this increased to 54% in the period 1996-2000.

In the decade to 2019 alone, the survival rate for extremely premature babies born at 23 weeks doubled, prompting new guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) that enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks gestation. The previous clinical guidance, drafted in 2008, set the standard that babies who were born before 23 weeks gestation should not be resuscitated.

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Congratulations to Mrs Smoker on her 100th birthday! This achievement is even more amazing after her challenging start to life, weighing only 3 pounds in 1924 when medical support for unwell and premature infants was nowhere near the level it is now. We are grateful for the medical and technological advancements that make it possible for increasing numbers of ill and premature babies to survive to adulthood”.

Dear reader,

You may be surprised to learn that our 24-week abortion time limit is out of line with the majority of European Union countries, where the most common time limit for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds is 12 weeks gestation.

The latest guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks. The latest research indicates that a significant number of babies born at 22 weeks gestation can survive outside the womb, and this number increases with proactive perinatal care.

This leaves a real contradiction in British law. In one room of a hospital, doctors could be working to save a baby born alive at 23 weeks whilst, in another room of that same hospital, a doctor could perform an abortion that would end the life of a baby at the same age.

The majority of the British population support reducing the time limit. Polling has shown that 70% of British women favour a reduction in the time limit from 24 weeks to 20 weeks or below.

Please click the button below to sign the petition to the Prime Minister, asking him to do everything in his power to reduce the abortion time limit.