In Kirov, they nursed a baby weighing 720 grams.

      Since the beginning of the year, 45 babies weighing less than 1.5 kg have been born at the Kirov Perinatal Center. Of these, 24 had extremely low weight. They are being cared for in the department for pathology of newborns and premature infants, which receives babies from across the region.

      The ward has created an environment as close to intrauterine as possible: special incubators maintain optimal humidity and temperature, and specialists trained in modern neonatal care techniques monitor the children's condition around the clock.

      According to the chief physician of the Kirov Regional Clinical Perinatal Center, Nikolai Semenovsky, caring for babies with extremely low birth weight is "a long and costly process that requires colossal effort." He noted that today such babies have a real chance not only to survive but also to have a good quality of life. The outcome is influenced by gestational age, birth weight, and, of course, the quality of care in the first minutes and weeks, as well as subsequent rehabilitation.

      One of the stories was shared by Ekaterina, the mother of a girl named Nicole. The child was born at 26 weeks — she weighed 720 grams and measured 32 centimeters.

      "From the very beginning we were surrounded by the care and love of the doctors and nurses," she recalls. "What frightened me most was the unknown. But I remember the day they first placed Nicole on my chest — she weighed less than a kilogram then. Those were the most touching and happiest moments."

      Mother and baby spent 82 days in the hospital: learning to breathe, to feed, to regulate their temperature. Nicole is now 1.5 years old. The girl sat up early, crawled, stood while holding onto support, and recently took her first steps — and now, according to her mother, she is "unstoppable."