She was born the size of a Barbie doll; 5 years later, she's a flourishing kindergartner

Born at 23 weeks and 6 days, Juniper French's chances of survival were slim. But survive she did

In April 2011, Kelley French went into premature labor, and her daughter Juniper was delivered via emergency C-section.

The foetus is said to be able to survive outside the uterus once it reaches 24 weeks—the limit of viability according to doctors. Juniper had reached only 23 weeks and 6 days.

“A normal pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. I was only halfway there,” wrote French in an article for the Tampa Bay Times. “If the doctors had not intervened, my baby would have been a miscarriage. But the odds for her had not improved by much.”

According to Pregnancy & Newborn, any baby born before 37 weeks is called a preterm or premature baby. Children born at fewer than 26 weeks (like Juniper) are called “micropreemies” or “super preemies.”

Premature babies are especially susceptible to health issues, and early arrival is the leading cause of death in newborns.

When Juniper was born, she weighed just 1 pound 4 ounces, and doctors said that there was an 80% chance that she would either die or be severely disabled. But five years later, apart from minor issues with her fine motor skills, Juniper is flourishing.

Juniper is now 5 years old and thriving; go to the next page to read more.

Juniper is now 5 years old, and has started kindergarten. She is 38.5 inches tall and weighs 32 pounds, and the clothes she wears were designed for 3-year-olds. She will probably be smaller than most as she gets older, but she is thriving.

“To call her a miracle is too simplistic,” French, a journalism professor at Indiana University in Bloomington told the New York Post. “It was a miracle with a lot of moving pieces.”

Photo: Kelley Benham French on Facebook

“She is very social, adores carrying on conversations with adults and is a wicked problem-solver and negotiator,” Kelley continues. “She loves to hear all about her birth and the uphill path she faced.”

French, 42, and her husband, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tom French, 58 have chronicled Juniper’s fight in a memoir, Juniper, available now.

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