survival

On October 24, 2007, a miracle baby named Amillia Taylor turned 1 year old in Miami, Fla. The daughter of Sonja and Eddie Taylor, Amillia was born at 21 weeks weighing just a little over 9 ounces, and is the first baby known to survive after a gestation period of fewer than 23 weeks.

Doctors held little if any hope for her survival but Amillia defied the odds and demonstrated a desire to live. They attribute her survival to significant technological advances in neo-natal care. "When they took her out, the whole room gasped. They were shocked because she was so small. She had one eye opened and was looking around." Amillia Taylor was born weighing 9 ounces and measuring 9 1/2 inches long (about the length of an ink pen). Taylor says the neonatologist on staff didn't know what to do with Amillia because he had never seen a baby so small. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks, and few babies born before 22 weeks survive. Her parents say they named her Amillia because it means resilient in Latin, a fighter and hardworking. "She's our little miracle."

Amillia's mother, Sonja Taylor, says she is delighted by her daughter's continuing progress. "Even though she's only four pounds, she's plump to me," she said. "So yes, the big difference is her size now. "Now I can feel her when I hold her."

Doctors say Amillia will still have to be monitored closely after her release, requiring asthma medication and extra oxygen for months to come as she still weighs less than two kilograms.

- BBC