A premature baby delivered at just 23 weeks and weighing only 328g has been given the title as one of the UK’s smallest babies.
Robyn Chambers could fit her entire body into the “palm of a hand” after she was born to parents Chantelle and Daniel Chambers, from Wales back in March.
Her parents said doctors and nurses commented on never having seen a baby so small before. Daniel, 37, said: “They said she was the smallest that had ever been born in that hospital. And it turns out she is the smallest baby born in Wales.”
Robyn Chambers was born early after her mother suffered a premature rupture of membranes.
Chantelle explained: “The pregnancy was plain sailing up until the 20-week anomaly scan when the problem was detected. We were told that my cervix was slightly opening and there was a risk of pre-term labour. My waters could break and I could go into spontaneous labour at any time. I was admitted into hospital that day and put onto bed rest.”
Chantelle stayed in hospital for just over three weeks before Robyn was born on March 8 this year. She was intubated and placed in a “sandwich bag” to keep her vital organs warm after birth.
Speaking to Wales Online, Daniel added: “They said her veins were as small as a piece of string, so it was incredibly hard for the doctors and nurses to work on her.”
Over the next few weeks after she was born, Robyn developed complications including sepsis and had to have a total of 16 blood transfusions. She was also placed under a phototherapy light to treat her jaundice.
The parents explained: “She was so small she could not wear any clothes until she was three months old, and even then they were too big on her. She struggled to gain weight and only made it to 1kg three months after she was born.”
Robyn is likely to have visual and mobility impairments as she experienced hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy at birth.
Chantelle said: “She has overcome so many obstacles in her short life already. She truly is a tiny warrior. However, we believe with the right therapies and treatment Robyn will have a chance of improving. She has already shown massive improvement over the last few months.”
Robin now weighs a healthier 8lbs but the family are waiting for their daughter to be transferred to Noah’s Ark Hospital in Cardiff for specialist treatment.
The couple are raising funds to help with therapies, treatments and equipment costs for looking after Robyn at home. Chantelle added: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff involved in caring for Robyn at the Grange Hospital NICU department. We are so grateful to them for saving our baby.”
The family has “no date” for when she can come home but are spending every moment with her.
