The fate of summer baby Melinda Star Guido was so tenuous that the world, outside her family, wasn't really aware of the premature infant's existence until this week.

That's when officials at L.A. County-USC Medical Center announced that, yes, she's alive.

Melinda is not only with us, but she's a record-holder:

The hospital says she's the third-smallest baby ever born on the planet.

Dr. Rangasamy Ramanathan, Chief of the Neonatology Section at the hospital, says her parents were warned that she might not make it, and that they need to “take it minute-by-minute.”

Guido was born in August, 16 weeks early. County-USC says she weighed under a half-pound. According to the hospital:

… Global Birth Registry figures show that combining both gestational age and weight, Melinda is the third smallest baby ever born in the world. She was just 24 weeks old and weighed only 270 grams …

Her parents stated that …

… All the nurses were saying that she was really feisty, she was always fighting for her life …

She's not done with County-USC yet: Doctors will continue to check on Melinda's progress … for the next six years.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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