A baby girl weighing just over 400g when she was born is spending her first day at home in Dublin.
Baby Maya Dube had been cared for in the neonatal unit at Rotunda Hospital for almost four months, and she is the smallest baby cared for by the team there.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Maya’s mother, Sipeto Dube, said that the early birth came as a complete surprise.
"I was expecting her on 26 March 2025 ... I couldn’t recognise her at all because she was very, very tiny.
"She had to stay in the incubator for two weeks before I got to touch her," she said.
Despite a difficult time, Ms Dube said that it was a relief that Maya was now home.
"It was a difficult time personally, because I was not really expecting it to happen. I was hoping to carry full-term, but it happened.
"She was in the ICU from December and was discharged yesterday after 116 days, weighing 2.3kg now.
"It was a sense of relief, having stayed there for three months, it was a long stay for us," she added.
Ms Dube was juggling college studies while visiting her daughter in the Rotunda until she was discharged yesterday.
She said that baby Maya was taking the move home in her stride.
"It is so nice to have her home.
"We had a great night last night, she didn’t actually give me any issues! I was thinking she might be difficult, but no, she did well," said Ms Dube.
The proud mother has documented her daughter’s journey since her early arrival.
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"I’ve been documenting this every day since day one, so she will get to see everything, all the pictures and videos of her since day one," she said.
"I’m hoping that she doesn’t have any medical issues along the way. I just hope that she grows strong, as she did in the ICU.
"She never had any issues, so I hope she has a smooth journey going forward," added Ms Dube.
Speaking on the same programme consultant Neonatologist at Rotunda Hospital, Dr Michael Boyle, said that while Maya weighed just over 400g at birth, that went down even further when the umbilical cord was cut.
"When we brought her to the neonatal unit and we cut the cord to remove the clamp, she went down to 380 grams, so she was super, super tiny," he said.
"She fit into my hand. I was at her delivery. She was a tiny little thing, but she was mighty from the get-go," he added.
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Dr Boyle said that although Maya was doing well now, she would require care for some time after being discharged.
"All of our pre-term babies will be followed up for the first two years of life, so it doesn't stop just when they leave the NICU.
"She would be deemed high risk just given her gestation and her size ... we've got really nice, normal head scans, which is exactly the way we'd like to be at this stage," he said.
Dr Boyle said that there was a lot of excitement yesterday as Maya headed home.
"Yesterday was only amazing. Everyone was gathered around watching her ring the bell. There wasn't a dry eye in the house and we're just all so, so pleased," he said.
