Baby Halea: A 12-Ounce Miracle.(Brief Article)

So tiny at birth that her father's wedding ring could slide up to her shoulder, Halea Maurer beat the odds and went home with her family October 26 at four months old weighing four pounds, nine ounces.

When she was born June 25 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, 27 weeks into her mother's pregnancy, she weighed only 12 ounces, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Medical technology has improved so much that more and more babies born with such low birth weights can survive. The University of Iowa's Division of Neonatology has collected data on 28 babies who weighed less than 400 grams (14.1 ounces) at birth, 17 of whom were born in the last five years.

Interestingly, only the largest three babies on the list are male - - all of the tiniest babies are female.

Anne and Ken Maurer of Elmhurst, Illinois, were told two weeks before she was born that their baby would be premature and would probably not be able to survive, the Sun-Times reported. Anne Maurer was diagnosed with a condition called intrauterine growth restriction, in which the placenta is unable to supply the normal amounts of oxygen and nutrients.

The Maurers decided to name their daughter Halea, which is Hawaiian for "fond remembrance," and put together a box of her ...