Sharon Grant was terrified when she gave birth to her daughter Pixie just 28 weeks into her pregnancy, a full three months early. Weighing in at just 1.1 pounds, Pixie was so tiny that doctors decided to use a very unusual item to keep her warm: a sandwich bag!

Doctors at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, England decided that Sharon needed to have an emergency C section after they realized that Pixie had stopped growing in the womb because of complications with the umbilical cord and placenta. Doctors feared that Pixie would not live for more than an hour, so they rushed her to intensive care and did everything possible to keep her alive.

Since the hospital was not equipped with the equipment needed to keep a preemie baby warm, doctors decided to place Pixie inside of a sandwich bag for the first few weeks of her life.

“It was so random that they had her in the Tesco bag — it must have just been what the operating theatre had at the time,” Sharon recounted.

Though this may sound crazy, it’s actually not the first time a sandwich bag has been used in this way. It turns out that the thin skin of babies allows water to evaporate through it faster than usual, so using a plastic bag to keep them warm can be better than using a blanket. In fact, the Neonatology Consultant at the hospital that took care of Pixie said that they typically use this practice for babies that weigh under 3.3 pounds.

“It is now a standard treatment, where the wet newborn infant’s body and limbs are placed into the bag, under a heater, which creates a greenhouse effect, and this is the most effective way of maintaining their temperature in the golden hour after birth and until they are placed into a warm, humid incubator for ongoing care,” the specialist said.

For Sharon, the days Pixie spent in the sandwich bag were pure torture, as she was not allowed to even hold her. It was not until Pixie was 18 days old that doctors finally allowed Sharon to pick her up.

“We have been in and out of hospital a lot since she got home, and she can’t be around other children or ill people because if she gets a cold she will end up on oxygen again,” Sharon said. “But at the moment she is doing really well. She looks really nice and healthy.”

Photos of Pixie today show just how much she has grown! Thanks to the care she received, Pixie is now a normal-sized 5 month-old baby!

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