Premature baby weighing 400 grams survives

An infant who was born after only 23 weeks and six days was discharged from hospital after more than five months of treatment in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on Thursday.

Xiao Haicao (the baby's nickname), who weighed just 400 grams at the time of birth, has become the lightest premature baby to make it in the mainland.

Xiao Haicao weighed more than 3,000 grams and was in stable condition when he was discharged from Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital on Thursday. The boy was dubbed "Strong Baby" by medical workers.

The mother surnamed Lin was moved to tears when she and her son left the hospital.

Yang Chuanzhong, a senior surgeon from the hospital, said Xiao Haicao was immediately moved to NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for treatment upon his birth for surgery for arterial duct ligation as surgery was the only option.

"And within a week of surgery he did not need a respirator," Yang said.

"Xiao Haicao is also the youngest to have successfully undergone such a surgery, and it is a medical miracle that the baby survived, " Yang told local media.

Lin delivered a pair of twin boys five months ago. But the other one who weighed 390 grams upon his born died after two months of treatment in hospital.

It was Lin's second pregnancy. Lin is already a mother of a daughter before she gave birth to the twins.