Parents of one of the smallest babies ever delivered in Australia who weighed just 376grams open up about her dramatic birth as the 'little warrior' finally gets to go home
- Mimi Marks was the same mass as a Vegemite jar when she was born in April
- Mother Nelma gave birth to her via emergency caesarean after just 26 weeks
- The baby suffered infections and chronic lung disease in hospital after birth
- She survived against all odds, earning the nickname 'little warrior' from her dad
The parents of a tiny baby who weighed the same as a jar of Vegemite say she is a 'true miracle' for surviving months after her premature birth.
Baby Mimi Marks weighed just 376 grams when she was born after just 26 weeks of gestation at Monash Children's Hospital in Melbourne in April.
Mother Nelma Marks was forced to have an emergency caesarean, giving birth 14 weeks earlier than the average 40-weeks gestation period.
Mimi was extremely vulnerable after birth, suffering chronic lung disease and several infections - but has managed to survive against all odds.
Mimi Marks (pictured on her father's chest) was just 376 grams and not much bigger than her father's hand when she was born at Monash Children's Hospital in Melbourne in April
Mrs Marks said she is 'so grateful' Mimi has managed to survive since April.
'She is a true miracle. It's unbelievable to see. We are really, really grateful to Monash. I have no words to explain, it's beyond happiness,' she told 9News.
Father Randall Marks said they have nicknamed Mimi 'little warrior' for her resilience against all odds.
'Wow, she is small, tiny and it's not much bigger than a coke can really. We've nicknamed her the little warrior through all this,' Mr Marks said.
The five-month-old baby has stayed in hospital ever since her birth but was finally discharged from hospital last week.
Mimi's tiny size makes her the smallest baby to be born at Monash Medical Centre and one of the smallest to ever be born in Australia.
Parents Randall (left) and Nelma (right) Marks with Mimi in the middle. The five-month-old baby was in hospital ever since her birth but was finally discharged last week
Babies under 2.5kg are considered to be low birth weight babies in Australia, but Mimi was just a seventh of this size at birth.
She now weighs a healthy 4kg and lives at home with her parents in Melbourne's Croydon.
Monash's Professor Arvid Seghal said it was 'a great outcome' for Mimi to finally go home and live a normal life.
While Mimi was the smallest baby to be born at Monash Medical Centre, she is not the smallest to be born in Australia.
That title belongs to Elora De Bondi, who was just 319g when she was born in Melbourne in 2008.
The smallest baby to be born in the world is Saybie, who weighed in at just 245 grams when she was born in San Diego, California in December, 2018.
Babies under 2.5kg are considered to be low birth weight babies in Australia, but Mimi was just a seventh of this size at birth. She now weighs a healthy 4kg and lives at home with her parents in Melbourne's Croydon
