Premature Baby: Smallest Born in Ohio

Jataija Wall was born October, 8^th 1997. What made her birth different than most is that she was born 15 weeks early and weighed only 12.5 ounces. What the medical profession considers a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. She is the smallest baby to survive in Ohio and one of the smallest in the country. Her fight for life however started before she was even born when an ultrasound early on put Jataija's odds of survival at zero or almost zero as her doctor would later change it too. Her Mother had uncontrolled high blood pressure which led to her needing a Caesarean section which caused Jataija to be born too early. If her mother had no choice as if shed didn't she would risk a life treating seizure in turn possibly killing both of them.

After Jataija Wall was born her neonatologist Hany Aziz at MetroHealth Center in Cleveland looked for any signs that she had any fight in her for life since she was 135 grams less in weight than what is thought for survival. He quickly noticed that her skin was plum red and dusted with downy fetal hair which Aziz thought was tough enough to keep infections out of her tiny body and keep in the warmth. Another thing on her side was her gender. Since Girls mature faster even as fetuses a smaller girl premature baby has a better fighting chance for life than a boy of the same size.

Besides her will to survive what helped Jataija in her fight the most was technological advancement, the invention of artificial surfactant. Surfactant is found in more mature babies and prevents their lungs from collapsing. Since her organs were underdeveloped her lungs needed immediate attention and this artificial surfactant helped her to breath properly and give her a real fighting chance. Today the extent of her harm to her eyes is unknown but she has no damage to her major organs. I think it is amazing what this child and her parents went through for her to live as well as the hard work and time of the doctors and nurses. Because of this I believe she will live everyday to its fullest.

Reference:

Brink S. News you can use. The smallest preemie: the odds were against her survival, but luck, and a

lot of technology, spared Jataija Wall. U.S. News & World Report [serial online]. March 30,1998;124(12):60. Available from: CINAHL with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed May 27, 2