The 'smallest baby in Korea', born last April weighing only 288g, was discharged from the hospital after 153 days of intensive treatment.
According to the Newborns Team at Asan Hospital Children's Hospital in Seoul on the 6th today (6th), Joo Choon-woo, who was born as an ultra-small, low-weight premature infant weighing 288g and height of 23.5cm in 24 weeks and 6 days, was discharged from the hospital on the 3rd in good health.
Geon-woo was the first baby to the couple after six years of marriage. However, at the 17th week of pregnancy, the couple was diagnosed with 'intrauterine growth retardation', in which the fetus does not grow well in the womb, and there is no hope of survival.
The couple visited Asan Medical Center in Seoul at the end of March with the feeling of catching straw. Although the size of the fetus is small enough to be 5 weeks behind the original gestational age, the medical staff decided to try to increase the gestational weeks as long as the fetus can withstand it.
Geon-woo's mother, who was admitted to the high-risk maternal intensive care unit on April 1st, received steroids for fetal lung maturation and magnesium sulfate, which helps brain development. However, as a dangerous situation occurred in which the fetal heart rate continued to decrease, it was necessary to give birth by emergency cesarean section in three days.
Geonwoo, who came to the world 15 weeks before the due date, was unable to breathe on his own because the alveoli were not completely formed.
Geon-woo's heart started beating only after receiving pulmonary surfactant immediately intrabronchially, and then he was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit for intensive care.
In the hopes that the baby will be healthy as soon as possible, the medical staff called him 'Early (882)', whose weight at birth was reversed at 288g.
Geon-woo faced a turning point in his life several times, but each time he showed an amazing miracle.
There was a moment of crisis when the heart suddenly stopped on the one-month-old day, but I survived through emergency resuscitation.
In order to deliver breast milk to Geon-woo, who is struggling, Geon-woo's mother pumped breast milk in the car coming to the hospital from her home in Haman, Gyeongsangnam-do, and traveled a distance of 700 km round-trip for five months.
Thanks to the unity of the medical staff and family members, Geon-woo took off the ventilator about 80 days after birth and was able to breathe spontaneously, and his weight exceeded 1 kg.
He left the incubator in the middle of 4 months of age, and when he reached 5 months of age, he weighed over 2 kg and found health.
Geon-woo earned the nickname 'the smallest baby in Korea' as it was recorded as the smallest surviving case of ultra-prematurity reported in Korea.
"Geon-woo was a young teacher who reminded me of the greatness and gratitude of life," said Kim Ae-ran, a professor of neonatal department at Children's Hospital, the attending physician.
The survival of an ultra-premature infant weighing less than 400 g is known to be rare worldwide. According to the University of Iowa, there are currently 286 premature babies born and surviving under 400 grams. Gunwoo will be listed as the 32nd smallest baby in the world.
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(Photo = Provided by Asan Medical Center, Seoul / Yonhap News)