Baby Born at 24 Weeks Was Kept Alive in a Sandwich Bag

A baby girl who came into the world 16 weeks in advance, weighing only 1lb 10oz, managed to overcome all prognosis and recently celebrated her first birthday.

Amina Dobson was so tiny and fragile at birth that doctors had to come up with an ingenious way of simulating her mom’s womb: they used a sandwich bag.

Although it sounds crazy or even unhygienic, the bag helped to keep the baby warm, while she fought for her life.

The plastic material mimicked the conditions of the mother's womb, which made it the ideal environment for the girl to continue growing inside.

On February 23, 2018, when Amina was born, she had an open valve in her heart and a cerebral hemorrhage. She had to spend 76 days in the hospital. But she improved little by little, exceeding the doctor’s expectations by healing the conditions on her own.

She was eventually discharged to go home to her parents in Chicago, Illinois.

Taylor Dobson, her 24-year-old mother, said "We thought Amina might not make it, so to be here celebrating her first birthday is so special, and we feel so lucky. When she was born, it was a terrifying time. She was so tiny.”

"She was born early due to me having an incompetent cervix,” Dobson told The Sun. The night before Amina was born, Taylor started to have contractions and was admitted in the delivery room. However, because she was only at 24 weeks, doctors tried to stop the contractions with magnesium.

At 9 in the morning, a doctor came in and did an ultrasound. He discovered that Amina was kicking herself out Taylor’s cervix. “They told me I had an infection and that she needed to be delivered via emergency c-section immediately or she was at risk of catching it too,” the mom explained.

When Amina was born, she didn’t cry or made any sounds. She was immediately connected to wires, tubes, and machines, and placed into the sandwich bag.

Taylor and her partner, Dahoud Maizer, could not see their newborn for three days until her condition stabilized.

On day four, they were allowed to touch her for the first time. From then on, Amina took strides in her growing process, exceeding the expectations of nurses and doctors by breathing and eating independently one month before her scheduled date of delivery.

“I was not expecting to come into the NICU one day and the nurses to tell me that in a couple of days my baby would be ready to go home - she was only 34 weeks gestation at the time,” said Taylor. “She came home at 35 weeks gestation and was only 3lbs 7oz.”

Since she was discharged, Amina has grown incredibly. "Amina no longer needs to see the cardiologist, the ophthalmologist, or any specialist, she is now a year old and as healthy as she can be," says Taylor proudly.

And this is not the first case in which a bag of sandwich saved a baby.

After Sharon Grant gave birth to her beautiful baby, named Pixie, everyone thought that she would not be able to live much longer.

Pixie was brought to the world by an emergency c-section at the Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, England, as she was dangerously premature.

Little Pixie was quickly taken to the intensive care unit, where the doctors decided to do everything possible to keep her alive, although they thought she would not make it. Her condition remained precarious until finally, they put her inside a Tesco sandwich bag.