MIDGET BABY

Hokitika Guardian, 5 October 1932, Page 3

MIDGET BABY

GROWS TO FINE CHILjj. AUCKLAND, October ,3. A baby weighing one pound, was ,:() f n recently in the City of London Maternity Hospital, an-o it is close l jo ■-> as th e ‘smallest ever born there. . The matron of one of Auckland s leading maternity hospitals said.- that a balby weighing lflb was born in the hospital ■ ome time ago two months prematurely. It wag kept in the hospital for several months and to-day was a. fine child, being in no way either physically or mentally deficient. The, matron said that babies weighing between 21b and 2Ub were qu te frequent. They were much mOr e delicate tlfan the ordinayy-sized baby, and i ad to receive special care and treatment. They were not handled at all, but were put in improvised .incubators at a temperature of about 90 degrees, which was kept constant. When the fact that the baby born in the , London hospital had to be fed with a fountain pen filler was mentioned, she.e-aid that these Very small babies were very ofte” tc-o weak to wallow and had to '■■■ fed with tiny t'ffies inserted direct into the stomach. The food was given at a fixed temperature.

phf weight of a normal baby-was between 7ih- and 7£lb,- -although somr weighed up to 9lib and' 10lb.