Britain’s smallest ever baby boy celebrates his first birthday

Hasn’t he grown! Britain’s smallest ever baby boy who weighed less than a tin of baked beans celebrates his first birthday after defying slim odds of survival

• Frankie Thompson was born 16 weeks prematurely, weighing 13 ounces (378g)
• Unusually, he did not have usual complications premature babies are born with 
• Frankie, now one, spent the first few months of his life receiving care in hospital

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A baby boy thought to be the smallest ever born in Britain prematurely and survive has celebrated his first birthday.  

Frankie Thompson was born 16 weeks before he was due. He weighed 13 ounces (378g) – less than a tin of baked beans. 

Unusually, he did not have the usual complications premature babies are born with – but doctors and nurses warned his survival chances were slim.

Frankie, who lives at home in Farnborough, has now celebrated his landmark birthday after spending his first few months of life in hospital. 

Frankie Thompson was born 16 weeks before he was due. He weighed 13 ounces (378g) – less than a tin of baked beans (pictured on his first birthday)

Dr David Evans, of The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said it was likely Frankie was the smallest boy born to survive in Britain.

At the time of Frankie’s birth, he said: ‘Smaller baby girls have survived in Britain, but I am unaware of such a tiny boy surviving.’

His mother turned Frankie’s first birthday party into a fundraising day, collecting £6,000 for the Little Roo Neonatal Fund (LRNF).

The charity helps St Peter’s Hospital – where Frankie was treated – acquire the latest specialised equipment to help premature babies and their families. 

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Frankie’s 36-year-old mother Michelle gave birth at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey, on September 25. She was expected to give birth in January.

Immediately after birth, he was placed into a ‘sandwich bag’ – often used to keep premature babies warm – and resuscitated. 

Figures show the chances of survival for a 14 oz (400g) baby is around 25 per cent.

And surviving without moderate to severe brain damage is even lower – at around seven per cent. 

After three months of treatment, Frankie was strong enough to go home – and did so on Boxing Day. 

Unusually, he did not have the usual complications premature babies are born with – but doctors and nurses warned his survival chances were slim (pictured in hospital)

However, Frankie, who lives at home in Farnborough, has celebrated his landmark birthday after months of hospital treatment (pictured with his mother Michelle, 36)

BABIES ARE ‘VIABLE’ IF BORN AFTER 24 WEEKS

Around eight per cent of babies are born prematurely, which is considered to be when they are born before the 37th week of a pregnancy.

The standard expected length of a pregnancy is 40 weeks. 

The NHS considers babies to be ‘viable’ at 24 weeks or later into the pregnancy – this means it’s possible for them to survive being born from this point onwards.

Babies can still legally be aborted in the UK until the 24th week of pregnancy. 

Babies born very early will need intensive care in a specialist neonatal hospital unit.

They may have serious health problems – particularly affecting the lungs and brain – because they haven’t had time to develop properly in the womb.

Source: NHS 

Ms Thompson described her early labour as a ‘massive shock’. However, she praised medical staff at both St Peter’s and Frimley Park hospital for their ‘amazing’ care. 

The team at Frimley Park delayed Frankie’s birth by almost three days, before he was transferred to St Peter’s.  

Ms Thompson was told at the time the first two days of Frankie’s life were ‘very critical’.

In an interview at the time, she said: ‘He was so small, so we thought there wasn’t much chance. 

‘We then had to think about telling his eight-year-old step-sister, Tilly, who was taken out of school and told that he might not make it.’

Frankie was then moved back to Frimley Park Hospital to continue treatment six weeks after he was born.

Doctors eventually allowed him to go home with breathing assistance.

Frankie’s 36-year-old mother Michelle gave birth at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey, on September 25. She was expected to give birth in January

Ms Thompson was told at the time the first two days of Frankie’s life were ‘very critical’. In an interview at the time, she said: ‘He was so small, so we thought there wasn’t much chance’ (pictured in hospital)

Ms Thompson earlier this year revealed how nurses regularly came to visit Frankie to check his oxygen levels.

Since leaving hospital, Frankie has only been forced to return once for treatment – after he caught bronchitis.

Ms Thompson returned to St Peter’s earlier this year to visit the doctors and nurses who saved her son’s life.

Consultant Dr Peter Reynolds, who was present during Frankie’s birth and aftercare, revealed it was ‘amazing’ to see how well he was doing.

He said: ‘When Frankie was born he was extremely premature and also half the weight that we would have expected him to be.

‘When he was born he wasn’t showing much signs of life, it was a severe condition and I don’t think any of us knew what was about to happen.

‘It feels great to be able to help families like this but I work as part of a team. The credit must go to the doctors and nurses who were there for him during his care.

Speaking about Frankie in May, he added: ‘It was lovely to see him again because he was considerably smaller the last time I saw him.

‘It was amazing to see how happy the whole family was and how well they are doing. It is things like that that make this job so rewarding.’ 

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