Tiniest Japanese baby boy survives with birth weight of 258 grams
This handout picture taken on October 9, 2018, and released by Nagano Children's hospital on April 19, 2019, shows the baby being treated at Nagano Children's hospital in Azumino.
A Japanese baby born weighing just 258 grams, the tiniest recorded in Japan so far, survived healthily in a hospital in central Japan's Nagano Prefecture, local media reported Friday.
The baby boy is likely to break a record previously set by a child born in Tokyo last August by 10 grams, the Nagano Children's Hospital said.
Ryusuke Sekino, the baby boy who is currently around five months old, will soon be able to leave hospital as doctors are confident in his health condition, according to the hospital.
Doctor Takehiko Hiroma said at a press conference that he was "very happy" that the care provided for the baby boy has successfully nurtured him to a healthy 3.37 kg.
"There have been difficulties in the treatment because, immediately after his birth, his blood vessels were too thin to administer intravenous drips," he said.
In Japan, about 90 percent of babies born weighing less than one kg are able to survive, but the rate for babies less than 300 grams remains low, especially in the case of baby boys.
According to Japan's Keio University Hospital, 25 babies worldwide were born weighing less than 300 grams and survived, six of whom were boys.
