“Miracle baby” Hope Daniels, who is thought to be one of the smallest micro-premature babies in terms of weight to have ever survived in South Africa, was able to spend the festive season at home, after being discharged from Netcare Kuils River Hospital on Friday 21 December.
Born at 24 weeks’ gestation on 19 March 2018 and weighing a mere 300g, baby Hope had to spend more than nine months in Netcare Kuils River Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit before her doctors deemed her strong enough to be discharged home to her parents, Dorianne and Lesley Daniels.
With many of the hospital’s staff turning up to bid baby Hope and her family farewell, it was clear that she had won the hearts of the doctors, nurses, management and other staff members.
“We have been most satisfied with Hope’s neurological, visual and hearing developmental progress. Now weighing 5.44kg, she is growing strong and already has such a strong personality,” says Dr Zaheera Kajee, a neonatologist who practises at Netcare Kuils River Hospital, and has been part of the team responsible for Hope’s care.
“As she was born so prematurely, however, Hope will still require special care and feeding at home, and we will have to keep a close eye on her development and health as she grows.”
At birth Hope weighed exactly 300g, less than a standard can of cooldrink. Kajee confirms that, although not the youngest, Hope has some claim to being considered the smallest micro-premature baby to have survived in South Africa. A week after her birth, Hope’s weight fell to just 285g, putting her weight close to that of one of the smallest babies, who was born at 243.8g in Chicago in 2004 when her mother was only 25 weeks pregnant, to have ever survived in the world.
Kajee admits she feared for Hope’s life, as the baby girl was significantly premature and her organ systems were very underdeveloped. Kajee says she had to warn Dorianne and Lesley Daniels that there was a high risk that their daughter might not survive and, if she did, she was likely to face numerous health and development challenges. Hope, however, had ideas of her own, slowly but surely continuing to grow. “My husband, Lesley, and I have been trying to have a baby for the past 10 years, so we have been praying hard for Hope ever since her birth,” says Dorianne Daniels. “The 275 days that Hope has spent in hospital have been exceptionally hard and something of an emotional roller coaster, but we are deeply grateful to have reached a point where she is now ready to come home with us.”
Kajee explains that Hope will still require feeding by means of a special pump at home, until she can independently feed larger volumes of milk on her own.
“Hope has shown herself to be a little fighter and became a firm favourite of everyone at Netcare Kuils River Hospital who have worked hard to care for her and provide support to her parents. The manager of the neonatal and paediatric intensive care unit, Sister Claire Pitt, and her nursing staff have been incredibly passionate about Hope’s care. We owe them our heartfelt thanks for so often going well beyond the call of duty to look after Hope and support her parents,” says Kajee.
Despite fertility treatments, Dorianne Daniels struggled for a decade to conceive as a result of a chronic illness. “I had almost given up on believing I could have a baby — it seemed like it would take a miracle,” she says.
Towards the end of 2017, Dorianne became ill with Bell’s palsy. Her doctor warned her that the medication she had to take for this condition could result in her falling pregnant. “I laughed because after many rounds of fertility treatment over the years, I still hadn’t fallen pregnant and I certainly did not expect to then. And well, I am delighted to say, the doctor was right!”
Due to her health the pregnancy proved difficult and at around 21 weeks she developed pre-eclampsia, a condition associated with high blood pressure, which can affect the placenta and cause the foetus to stop growing.
“As the pregnancy was threatening my own health, my concerned doctors advised me that it was no longer possible to wait longer to deliver Hope. There were also deep concerns regarding her survival, as she was so premature,” she shares.
