Meet the real-life Milky Bar Kid – one of the world’s smallest babies ever to survive who weighs the same as a bar of CHOCOLATE.
Little Manushi was born at 28 weeks tipping the scales at just 0.88lb and her foot was the size of her dad’s thumbnail.
She arrived early by emergency c-section when her mum’s blood pressure rocketed and the baby was in danger.
The tot weighed just 400g – or 14oz – the same as a big bar of Cadbury’s chocolate.
She measured just 8.6in long and is thought to be the smallest surviving baby ever born in Asia.
Her minuscule feet were no bigger than her dad’s thumbnail and she was born not breathing, with underdeveloped lungs, heart, brain and kidneys, with paper-thin skin.
But six months on, the baby was finally well enough to be discharged from hospital on Thursday, weighing only 5.2lbs.
Delighted mum Seeta, 48, and dad Giriraj, 50, from Rajasthan, India, said she was their real-life miracle.
They said: “She’s just fought and fought and fought against all the odds, but she’s made it.”
Mum Seeta suffered dangerously high blood pressure during her pregnancy and an ultrasound revealed an absence of blood flow to the foetus.
She underwent a c-section on June 15, at 28 weeks, and Manushi was put on a ventilator and transferred to Jivanta Children’s Hospital NICU.
The tiny baby was given a 0.5% chance of survival without brain damage, and there was no reported survival of a baby weighing this small in India and South Asia.
Dr Sunil Janged, chief neo-natologist added: “When the baby was born, we were uncertain of what could happen.
“She was struggling to breathe, so was immediately put on advanced respiratory support ventilator to expand her tiny, immature lungs.
“She could not be fed adequately due to immaturity of her gut.
“We had to start the baby on total parenteral nutrition, which basically means giving all the essential nutrients such as amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals, multivitamins and trace elements directly into blood circulation.”
In her first few days of life she lost weight, but after seven weeks was able to start taking milk.
She had blood transfusions and respiratory support on and off, when she held her breath during her sleep.
But after 210 days in NICU she was discharged and doctors said her brain is structurally normal and eyes are developing normally.
“It is the latest technology, high end equipment and expertise of the NICU team, which has given this phenomenal result,” said Dr S K Tak, head of paediatrics and Ananta Medical College in Rajasthan.
Normally, her medical treatment would have cost 1,000,000 rupees – around £11,500 – but the hospital charged a nominal fee, due to her family’s low income.
Hospital director Dr Sunil Janged said: “We decided to save the life of the baby and offer her necessary medical care and attention because we wanted to send out a message that a girl child must be protected.
“In a state like Rajasthan where female infanticide is rampant, people have to come forward and take step to end this evil practice.”
Dr Ajay Gambhir, former president of National Neonatology Forum of India added: “We are grateful to Seeta and her family.
“We appreciate them for setting a new example to the community.
“In Rajasthan the girls [like this] are still considered a burden, and are thrown in the trash immediately after birth or are left in the orphanage.
“Seeta and the hospital staff treated this baby girl, despite her having negligible chance of survival.”
The smallest baby ever born is thought to be Emilia Grabarczyk, who was born weighing 229g – 8oz – in Witten, Germany, in 2015.
