An extremely premature baby, who was born at only 24 weeks gestation, has finally been able to leave the hospital nine months after her birth. Amazingly, she was treated by the same doctor who treated her mother when she was a premature baby over thirty years ago.
Baby Myla spent the first nine months of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after she was born weighing only one pound, five ounces.
Dr Leonard Goldsmith, a neonatologist, cared for both baby Myla and her mother Chi thirty years previously.
“[Chi] spent a fair amount of time here and then did really well and went home. She’s had a great life. She’s very accomplished, became a nurse practitioner”, Dr Goldsmith said.
“Then last year, she came in and delivered Myla at 24 weeks”.
“Myla was critically ill. She was very, very sick, and it was a lot of ups and downs for the first couple of weeks, and she was fairly ill for several months”, Dr Goldsmith added, saying that baby Myla now holds the record for the “longest tenured patient” at the NICU.
Baby Myla now in “really good health”
Chi said that her worries about the extremely premature birth were alleviated by “[k]nowing that I was born here early, and look at me today”.
“My mom was very, very, very much sure that we were exactly where we needed to be. She reminded me to never focus on how long we have been here, but focus on the fact that we are here”, she said.
“It feels so surreal. I can’t believe [we are] finally going home after 285 days. But I’m so, so grateful and so, so excited”, Chi added.
Dr Goldsmith said that Myla “has good lung function and she can eat like a healthy baby, so we have very good feelings for her going forward”.
“This is what we all live for … and it’s very rewarding”, he added.
Baby Myla was discharged from the NICU at the end of February without any monitors or medical equipment, with Dr Goldsmith saying she is now in “really good health”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “This heartwarming story of two generations of premature babies thriving thanks to the dedicated care and support from medical professionals shows just how strong premature babies can be”.
“We wish baby Myla all the best on the rest of her journey now that she has finally been able to go home”.
