Maddalena Douse is one of the smallest premature babies ever to survive in the U.K. — thanks to a pair of scissors.
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When she was born six months ago at just 23 weeks, she was so tiny doctors did not know if they should try to save her.
But when they put her on the scales she weighed 1 pound, the minimum weight for a baby to be considered viable — so they fought for her.
Only when she was safely on a ventilator did doctors discover the scissors had been accidentally left on the scales, and that 8-inch Maddalena in fact weighed only .84 pounds, or about 13 ounces.
The lucky baby has now been discharged from the Royal Sussex Hospital and is expected to grow into a healthy child. Maddalena's twin sister, Isabella, died a few weeks after the girls' birth.
“She now weighs 5½ pounds and is getting stronger by the day," Maddalena's mother, Kate, said. "She’s our little miracle, and we’re so glad to have her home in time for Christmas.”
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