The “Pop Can” miracle baby
WPXI in Pittsburgh reports on the smallest baby ever to survive at Magee Women’s Hospital:
At birth baby Taylor Rideout weighed just 12.5 oz. and was just 10 inches long….
“She’s a fighter,” said Taylor’s mother Brittany Rideout.
At 80 days and now weighing 3 lbs., Taylor has come a long way. The tiny baby’s survival wasn’t a sure thing.
“When I was pregnant with her, I had two strokes and two seizures. She still survived,” said Rideout. Rideout has Lupus, and the pregnancy was threatening her life, so doctors delivered the baby 14 weeks early in March.
“I thought, ‘there’s no chance of this tiny baby surviving,'” said Dr. Toby Yanowitz. “She’s amazing. Most babies under a pound don’t survive.”
Taylor is nicknamed “pop can” because that’s how much she weighed when born.
Rideout has some advice for other parents facing similar challenges. “I would tell them don’t give up on their child if they’re born small or have a disease or anything. There’s a God in this world, and if it’s meant to be, it will be….”
Taylor is… expected to go home in a few weeks.
Doctors said the prognosis is good.
See Post-Gazette video here. Taylor’s parents said in the video doctors told them babies under 500 grams usually can’t be saved, and Taylor weighed 350 grams. But she lived.
[HT: P. Armbruster; photo attribution: WPXI.com]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Thank goodness she had a doctor who delivered Taylor 14 weeks early rather than suggesting terminating to save her mom’s life.
Lord,
Let this tiny miracle be a witness of your love and majesty. Let her life be long and peacful and full of your glory.
Let her be life be a testimony to all, that she was both a fetus and a baby and had every right to a chance at life.
In the name of Jesus Christ.
And to Ms. Rideout….what courage, what faith! You’ve made this macho man shed a tear.
With Life, there is always Hope…
Amen. Amen.
I am doing the math. That precious babe was born at around 25 weeks gestation, I am guessing.
Viable? Yes? No? Baby? Fetus? Embryo? Products of Conception? Human? Non-Human? Sentient? Not Sentient? Wanted? Not Wanted?
The mind fairly boggles at what a PC will say about that little fighter!!!
What a beautiful mother and child. God bless them both.
Wonderful positive story! God bless her and her baby.
Absolutely precious! It isn’t uncommon for such little ones to have a few extra hospital stays over the first year or two of life (they get harder hit by respiratory illnesses and viruses)… it never fails to amaze us when we get these former 26 week preemies in and they are big, chubby, mostly healthy toddlers who only need a little extra help every now and then.
It sickens me that if the mother had had a different OB, this baby might not be alive today. I am so glad that this one tried to save both mother and baby. That’s what this is all about — give the little ones a chance. Don’t just say “oh, well, we give up, it’s too hard and costs too much” without even trying. Every life is precious.
I hope people realize that for every Tiller, there are many, many wonderful OBs who strive for outcomes like these (and many of them aren’t necessarily making a pro-life stand or thinking of it in those terms… they just follow their Hippocratic oath to save lives and are doing their jobs responsibly.)
This baby is beautiful! Wonderful mommy too I might add.
Congrats to this baby & mommy, they’ll have lots to talk about when she gets older.
Elisabeth,
You’re exactly right, but I wish more doctors would be vocal about their pro-life stance on abortion. Who better to teach the science behind conception? Unfortunately many have been taught in medical school that being honest about abortion makes them appear judgemental – a no no in today’s politically correct world.
BEAUTIFUL!
This is one of those times I wish I could see. Angele, and others, I wonder What does the baby look like?
I am pretty sure RJ that you were just as small when you were born, right?? She is just precious and in another picture Mommy is feeding her growing girl a bottle and kissing her on the head. Soooo sweet!!
One pound five ounces, and eleven inches long. Thanks for discribing the picture to me. And Yes, that baby is a fighter! RJ
At last: Some reason for hope.
great story.
Praise God
Beautiful story. I notice no pro-abortion individual has the cojones to comment on this? C’mon. Where’s your typical “Harumf! This was irresponsible and threatened her life and the fetus!”?
Well, here’s a comment from a pro-choice (not pro-abortion) advocate. This baby is an amazing miracle. I’m so glad that the mother had a choice in this matter. She made an amazing choice and has a beautiful daughter to show for it.
Alright, well, please enlighten me as to the choice made by people who choose abortions? What exactly do they have to show for their choice after the procedure?