"To all life Thou givest--to both great and small": an even tinier baby survives

Reading about the survival of Madeline Mann, born weighing just 9.9 ounces in 1989, made me marvel at the miracle of life and God's sovereignty and prompted my earlier post. This morning I came across a news report of the survival of baby born 1.3 ounces lighter, and who has now overtaken Madeline in being the world's smallest ever to survive. They were both delivered at the same hospital, the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. To watch a video of the day Rumaisa went home with her parents, click here.

Seen here ready to go home with daddy, Rumaisa was about the size of a mobile phone
when she was born. Today, almost six months' old, she weighs about 5 pounds 8 ounces.

Taken from CBC news:

The babies' 23-year-old mother developed pre-eclampsia, a disorder characterized by high blood pressure, during pregnancy. The condition endangered Rumaisa and her mother, prompting a C-section at 26 weeks. Normal gestation is 40 weeks.
...
As Axelrod reports, it's no surprise Rumaisa and Hiba are girls; 90 percent of surviving babies born weighing less than 13 ounces are female. [see also this]

"Boys to me are the weaker sex." Murakas said. "Don't laugh, but it's true."

Muraskas also said that the twins could have been helped along in their development by their mother's health problems. "Sometimes, when babies are stressed in utero, that can accelerate maturity," he said.

The twins were placed on ventilators for a few weeks and fed intravenously for a week or two until nurses could give them breast milk through feeding tubes. They were able to start drinking from bottles after about 10 weeks.

Ultrasound tests have shown no bleeding in Rumaisa's brain, a common complication in premature babies that can raise the risk of cerebral palsy. Both girls also underwent laser surgery to correct vision problems common in premature babies.

Shaik and her husband, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, 32, said they are looking forward to bringing their children home. The couple, originally from Hyderabad, India, live in the suburb of Hanover Park.

"We want them to be good human beings, good citizens, and she wants them to be doctors," said Rahman, looking at his wife.

"Doctors. Yes, of course, of course," she said, laughing.

Madeline Mann, the previous record holder as smallest known surviving premature baby, returned to Loyola Hospital earlier this year for a celebration. Now 15, she was described as a lively honor student, though small for her age, at 4-feet-7.

According to the hospital, more than 1,700 newborns weighing less than 2 pounds have been cared for there in the past 20 years.

The quote in the title of this post comes from a favourite hymn of mine entitled
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" by Walter C. Smith; more specifically, from the third stanza which seems most apposite for stories such as Rumaisa's and Madeline's:

To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.

"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God,

be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." ~ 1 Timothy 1:17