An infant born weighing little more than a cup of sugar has been released form hospital after becoming the smallest boy to survive a premature birth.
The baby was delivered at 24 weeks via emergency caesarean section last August by doctors in Tokyo. He weighed just 268g, and could fit entirely within two hands.
His mother and doctors at Keio University had feared he wouldn’t survive after he did not gain sufficient weight in the womb, but the little fighter made an impressive recovery following treatment at a neonatal intensive care unit.
He was released from hospital last week, two weeks after his due date, weighing around 7lbs and feeding normally.
The boy’s mother said: “I can only say I’m happy that he has grown this big because, honestly, I wasn’t sure he could survive.”
Doctor Takeshi Arimitsu told Kyodo news agency: “I want people to know that babies can return home vigorous even if they are born small.”
The smallest known surviving girl was born in Germany in 2015 weighing 252g.
Babies born weighing less that 300g have a one in two chance of survival, according to doctors.