Born at 25 weeks weighing 850 grams, Moldovan girl defies the odds
Gloria-Maria, a baby girl born in Moldova weighing just 850 grams, has gone home after nearly tripling her weight over 72 days in hospital. She was born at 25 weeks' gestation — more than three months premature — weighing 850 grams and measuring 34 centimeters, according to her mother.
Doctors and family are calling her survival a victory. Her mother, Dana Targon, said she never left her daughter's side during the 72 days Gloria-Maria spent fighting for her life in hospital.
"She was barely bigger than my two hands put together, from her neck to her feet," Targon said. "Her socks were as long as her entire leg."
By the time she was discharged, Gloria-Maria weighed 2.6 kilograms — nearly three times her birth weight. She and her mother are now home, where her father and five-year-old sister, Daria, had been waiting for them.
At one critical point, Targon said, she made a promise to her daughter. "Gloria, mama is asking you to promise me you'll fight, and we'll leave here together and go home," she recalled telling her. "And I promise you, at your first school recital, I'll buy you the most beautiful dress."
Targon said the pregnancy turned dangerous after she developed a low-lying placenta, which caused bleeding and loss of amniotic fluid. A panel of doctors determined that labor could not be stopped and that delivery at 25 weeks was necessary to protect her life, she said.
"Doctors also warned that my daughter at home could be left without a mother," Targon said. "For me, it wasn't a choice between my life and hers — it was a choice between Gloria's life and Daria's."
"Never lose hope, and more than anything, believe in your child," Targon said. "Gloria showed me that beings this small can be this strong, and can get through so much. I want to sincerely thank the doctors who stood by us and worked so hard for her."
Gloria-Maria's case follows Moldova's smallest known surviving newborn, a baby born in 2020 weighing 530 grams, who spent 100 days in hospital before reaching 2.8 kilograms.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
