Youngest premature baby born 15 ounces developing normally in Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico, Aug 27, 2008 / 09:28 am

Shiryu Juárez Medina was born on May 29 in Mexico City at 23 weeks, weighing 15 ounces. He overcame numerous obstacles and with the assistance of specialists and the love of his family he will leave the hospital in a few days, having become the youngest premature baby in the world.

According to the Mexican daily, Milenio, Berenice Medina Aguilar, 33, went to the emergency room on May 29 complaining that she was not feeling well.

Doctors performed a c-section on the pregnant woman and were able to stabilized little Shiryu.

Dr. Leonardo Cruz Reynoso, head of the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital said there was no doubt he was the youngest premature baby to survive in the world. 

“There is not a single case in the whole world of a baby boy surviving under these circumstances,” Cruz said, noting that premature babies do not have sufficiently developed organs to usually be able to survive.

Shiryu’ case is even more amazing because he has not shown any signs of neurological or vision problems, which are very common among premature babies.

“When a baby is born prematurely, usually he displays mental retardation or blindness as a consequence of the cerebral alterations that are experienced when the process of development is not completed. The levels of potassium and glucose are altered, there can be infection that raises the blood temperature, in summary, there are many things against the baby that lead to disabilities,” Cruz said.

Shiryu, whose name means “Knight dragon” in Japanese, will be released from the hospital this week. He is now 88 days old and weighs four and a half pounds.

His parents are anxious to have him at home, together with his sisters Ximena, 10, and Xiadan, 8. 

“This little boy is a miracle, after so little hope that we had for him.  This situation is an example of the great strength a baby can have and of everything that painstaking medical care can accomplish,” the mother said.