Positivity: Tiny Survivor Has Fighting Spirit
July 25, 2007
On August 8, Carsyn Grayce Wolford turns five months old. The day will represent yet one more milestone in the short life of the preemie born March 8 at St. Peter’s Hospital.
At birth she weighed 15 ounces; less than one pound and measured just 10 inches. Her survival is nothing less than a miracle, according to Austyn Wolford, her mother. And her doctors agree.
Carsyn is the smallest baby to ever have survived at St. Peter’s, weighing in at just 429 grams at birth. Her original due date was June 15 but because Austyn suffered in early March from pre-eclampsia (or pregnancy-related hypertension) and a placental disruption (when the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus prematurely) an emergency caesarean had to be performed.
Before Carsyn’s birth, the smallest baby to survive at St. Peter’s was born December 2004 at 23 weeks gestation (three weeks sooner than Carsyn), weighing 15.4 ounces.
Survival of babies weighing over 500 grams (more than one pound) is pretty commonplace, but for those that weigh less than 500 grams, survival to this point is rare, said physician Karen Narkewicz, chief of Neonatology at St. Peter’s.
“She was strong and feisty, right from the start. … Of the 75 to 80 percent of these babies that do survive, most have major problems. Carsyn does not appear to have any major problems. She will have challenges with gaining weight. … Developmentally, she has met all of the milestones and is doing great,” she said.
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