Meet the Ten Year Old Who is UK’s Tiniest Baby That Made It

Looking back it was a miraculous journey for Aaliyah Hart, born in 2003 at City Hospital, Birmingham.

She was born three months prematurely, weighing just 12oz and a mere 7 inches long. Her lungs were underdeveloped and she was only given a 1% chance of survival.

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Today, Aaliyah is ten years old and is quite a sports enthusiast. She is infact the Captain of the girls' soccer team in school. She is four feet tall and weighs 56 lbs and is happy to be playing football. She loves being Captain of the team.

“I like school but I really love sports. I know I'm a bit smaller but I try not to let it make a difference. My favorite team is Manchester United. I really like Wayne Rooney," she said.

Doctors had advised Aaliyah's mother, Lorraine, to have an abortion as the baby was not developing well. The couple has tried 15 years to conceive and it was with Aaliyah that she had found success.

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The parents’ hope was crushed, yet they completely dismissed the idea of an abortion. They decided to go with the pregnancy even though the chances of survival of the baby were really dim.

"I literally just cried and cried. I could not believe that something so small could survive. She was so tiny but she was so active. Her hands were going, she was her own little person and I cried for a long time. She was surviving - that was my main concern," Lorraine said, explaining her feelings after seeing her baby.

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Dr. Jeffrey Bissenden, of City Hospital where Aaliyah was born and treated, said, "I have been a consultant pediatrician since 1980 and I've never seen a baby that size survive. Usually, they are miscarriages but she (Mrs Hart) pushed out this little girl who wriggled around, waved her legs and said 'I want to live'. The prematurity was not that unique in this case but the size of the baby was. I was amazed the baby did not die in the womb. I think this baby's survival is down to the intrinsic toughness of the child, not down to anything we have done."

"All babies are special, but Aaliyah is a little bit extra special. She's amazing. She's done so well and I'm so proud of her,” Lorraine added.

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Aaliyah still holds the record of being the smallest surviving baby in Britain.

Source-Medindia