---
title: "Born at 25 weeks weighing 850 grams, Moldovan girl defies the odds"
url: https://radiomoldova.md/p/81681/born-at-25-weeks-weighing-850-grams-moldovan-girl-defies-the-odds
published: 2026-07-26T07:15:00Z
language: en
author: "Marina Negară"
section: "Social"
source: radiomoldova.md
---

# 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.

[Video](https://www.youtube.com/embed/jVd6ECwPUMI)

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.

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/18eb5693-efad-4477-ab72-064ab1ae7cd2.jpg)

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.

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/64ca78a6-0af2-4096-a95a-5e869f28e9b2.jpg)

*"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."*

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/0b845cb7-429f-4121-9ebc-2fb5685c0207.jpg)

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**

![](https://storage.radiomoldova.md/images/e05b001b-a509-41e4-9240-cea46b5a095b.jpg)