Premature Births

Little, tiny baby? Ryusuke Sekino of Japan was just over half a pound. Now he's going home

Yuri Kageyama

Associated Press

Ryusuke Sekino, a 5-month-old boy who was just 258 grams (9 ounces) when born, sits in the arms of his mother Toshiko Sekino at a hospital in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, April 19, 2019. The baby is among the tiniest baby boys to survive in the world.

TOKYO – A tiny Japanese baby who weighed just nine ounces when he was born five months ago is going home from the hospital.

Ryusuke Sekino was shown on Japanese TV on Friday sitting in his mother's arms, looking somberly around at media cameras.

The University of Iowa keeps a Tiniest Babies Registry, which shows the previous smallest surviving boy weighed 9.5 ounces when he was born last year in Japan. A German girl born in 2015 weighed 8.9 ounces.

His mother, Toshiko Sekino, told reporters she was worried and cried a lot at first because he was so fragile and had transparent skin. She said she now is able to breastfeed him and is looking forward to taking him home on Saturday and giving him a bath there.

Ryusuke Sekino, a 5-month-old boy who was just 258 grams (9 ounces) when born, sits in the arms of his mother Toshiko Sekino, accompanied by his father Kohei Sekino, right, at a hospital in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, April 19, 2019. The baby is among the tiniest baby boys to survive in the world.

"There have been difficulties in the treatment because, immediately after his birth, his blood vessels were too thin to administer intravenous drips," Dr. Takehiko Hiroma of Nagano Children's Hospital was quoted as saying by Kyodo News service.

He said the baby is healthy now and weighs 7.4 pounds, Kyodo reported.

Japanese media said he measured 8.7 inches��in length when he was born.

"I can really feel his weight now. He used to be so light," his mother said on Fuji TV news.

Featured Weekly Ad