Smallest baby and twin: first birthdays

General Science

The world's smallest surviving baby celebrated her first birthday Monday at the neonatal unit of Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill.

Rumaisa Rahman weighed 8.6 ounces at birth and was about the size of a cell phone. Today she weighs 13 pounds and is 24 inches tall. Her fraternal twin sister, Hiba, weighs 17 pounds and is 26 inches tall.

The university said they were born at 25 weeks and six days of gestation by caesarean section. Rumaisa was 9.8 inches long at the time of birth, while Hiba weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces and was approximately 12 inches long.

With Rumaisa's birth, Loyola now holds the record for delivering and caring for the two smallest babies in the world. The other baby, Madeline Mann, was born at 9.9 ounces in 1989 and is now an honor student at a suburban Chicago high school.

Rumaisa means "white as milk" in India. Hiba means "gift from God." The parents, who live in Hanover Park, Ill., are originally from Hyderabad, India. The girls are the parents' first children.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

ť Next Article in General Science: Researchers to Develop Next Generation Chemical and Biological Agent Protective Clothing

would you recommend this story?