Study: World's Smallest Babies Defy Odds

Two women who hold records for being the smallest surviving newborns are now doing fine and have developed normally, despite being born months premature and weighing about as much as a smart phone after birth, according to doctors where both babies were born.

Madeline Mann is now 20 and a college student. When she was born in 1989, at nearly 27 weeks, she was the world's smallest surviving infant at 9.9 oz. In 2004, Rumaisa Rahman, a twin, weighed just 9.2 oz when she was born at nearly 26 weeks and became the world's smallest surviving newborn. She still holds that record today.
In a follow-up study published in the journal Pediatrics, doctors at Loyola described the girls' progress since their birth. Both Madeline and Rumaisa developed normal motor and speech abilities and so far, have no chronic health problems. They are also both much smaller than peers their age.