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Prem Baby at 22 Weeks Goes Home

A baby girl, born at 22 weeks and 5 days on World Prematurity Day, defies odds as the youngest ever surviving baby to be born at a hospital in the UAE.

Baby Talia was born weighing only 400g in November. Her birth was so sudden that Talia was still in her amniotic sac when she was born, and her skin was very thin and transparent. Despite her incredibly small size, the medical team immediately started life-saving care, including advanced breathing support and intubation.

As is common with extremely premature babies, it was not smooth sailing once baby Talia was out of the womb, and shortly after birth, she required strong antibiotics. In the first few days of Talia’s life, there was concern about potential brain injury due to infection and Talia’s extreme prematurity.

Baby Talia’s doctor, Dr Maria Theresa Reyes, said that this case pushed the medical team past their current experience. “We have had several 23‑week infants weighing around 500 grams with excellent outcomes”, explained Dr Reyes, but “Talia is our first 22‑week infant, weighing just 400 grams. She is the smallest 22‑weeker ever reported in the UAE”. 

Talia’s condition continued to stabilise, as small amounts of breast milk helped her grow and build immunity. Now, after over 4 months in intensive care, baby Talia was finally able to go home to her family. Weighing 2.6kg at the time of her discharge from hospital, doctors found no concerns for long-term health complications. 

Her mother, Jade, shared that “our little warrior, Talia, has shown us what strength, courage, and faith really mean”. She further explained that “we spent four months by her side in the NICU, holding on to hope through every moment. We learned how to love through wires, alarms, and uncertainty. How to smile while our hearts were breaking”. Jade said that “the NICU changed us completely”, and that Talia’s family would “always be grateful to the team who stood with us through it all”. 

King’s College London Hospital in Dubai has achieved a NICU survival rate of 99.3%, and Baby Talia’s case marks a milestone for neonatal medicine in the UAE, highlighting the growing capabilities of advanced neonatal intensive care

Ireland's Abortion Holocaust Set to Worsen

Ireland’s Parliament voted on Wednesday to abolish a mandatory three-day abortion waiting period that has helped to save many babies’ lives.

The legislation aims to  end the current requirement that women wait three days before an initial visit to the doctor, who ordinarily must certify that the woman is not past 12 weeks’ pregnancy, and the abortion of her baby. Abortions in later stages of pregnancy are permitted in exceptional circumstances when it is deemed that there is an “immediate risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of the pregnant woman.”

Figures show that between 2019 and 2024, about 10,400 women did not return for a second abortion consultation, including women who had a miscarriage or a hospital appointment, but indicating that many babies were saved as a result of the waiting period. 

While Parliament voted to strike down the waiting period 86 votes to 70, most deputies from both parties voted against the measure, according to The Guardian. The scale was tipped by votes in favor of the measure by a “handful of cabinet ministers, including the taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin, and the tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Simon Harris.”

Just weeks ago, a similar bill from the Social Democrats seeking to abolish the abortion waiting period failed to pass by an 85-30 vote, with 36 abstentions, Crux Now reported.

Peadar Tóibín, leader of Aontú, decried the vote, saying it has taken away the “last protection for unborn children.”

“The battle for compassion and humanity is not over. It still has to get through the remaining stages of the Dáil and Seanad,” he added.

Tóibín said during a debate on Tuesday that there were 10,852 abortions in Ireland last year, “the highest figure on record.”

“It is equivalent to 400 classrooms of children who are no longer with us as a result of that abortion law. It is absolutely heartbreaking,” he said.