495-Gram Preemie Born After 21 Years Of Marriage Gives Birth Herself – With Help Of Mother’s Obstetrician

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — After 21 years of marriage and endless waiting, in 2001 Ruchama-Chaya was born as an only child to her parents, Dudi and Esther Roth, who were already in their forties at the time.

“Doctors told us we wouldn’t be able to have children,” Dudi told Ynet. “We had already started the adoption process but decided to give it one final chance, and then Esther became pregnant. It was indescribably emotional.”

When Esther reached her 23rd week of pregnancy, she was diagnosed with preeclampsia and was urgently referred to the hospital. Upon arriving at Hadassah Mount Scopus, the couple met for the first time Prof. Simcha Yagel, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, who would later head the OB/GYN department at Hadassah’s hospitals.

Prof. Yagel decided to hospitalize Esther in the women’s ward to try and prolong the pregnancy and prevent a premature birth. However, about a week into the hospitalization, it became clear that the fetus’s heartbeat was weakening, and Prof. Yagel had to make the difficult decision to deliver the baby—at just 24 weeks.

“The pregnancy hadn’t progressed far enough, but it became a life-threatening situation for both the mother and the fetus, and there was no choice but to perform surgery,” he explains.

The baby girl was delivered via C-section, weighing an unimaginable 495 grams (1.09 lbs)—and even dropped to 460 grams (1.01 lbs) shortly after.

“Even a chicken you buy at the supermarket weighs more than that,” Dudi says with a smile. “I was afraid to get attached to her, afraid something would happen. Esther, on the other hand, bonded with her from the first moment.

“The doctors told us she had just a 3% chance of survival, but the NICU staff treated her incredibly—she was the queen of the unit.”

They named her Ruchama-Chaya, as a symbol of their faith: “G-d had mercy.” Dudi adds: “It was a very difficult time. Prayer and faith carried us through. No one could promise anything given her tiny weight and the many risks involved. But the NICU team, led by Dr. Zivanit Argaz, believed in her.”

Prof. Yagel shares: “I came every day to see that little baby, truly believing and hoping she would grow up healthy. I treated her like a member of my own family.”

Against all odds, after six months in the hospital, Ruchama-Chaya was discharged weighing 2.4 kilograms (5.3 lbs). “Since then, she hasn’t needed a doctor,” says Dudi proudly.

Over the years, the Roth family maintained a close relationship with Prof. Yagel.“We deeply appreciated everything he did for her. He was there for all the big moments—even at her wedding,” Dudi says.

A few months ago, the family received the joyful news that 24-year-old Ruchama-Chaya was pregnant. “She was afraid it wouldn’t happen because of what her mother went through, but Esther and I always believed she’d be a mother herself,” says Dudi.

Ruchama-Chaya adds: “I dreamed of my parents becoming grandparents, of continuing the chain of generations. God willing, they’ll even have great-grandchildren.”

After receiving the news, the family contacted Prof. Yagel.“I asked him if he’d be her doctor again, and he was over the moon—it was full circle for him,” says Dudi.

Prof. Yagel reflects: “I was honored to be there for Ruchama all these years, through her most meaningful life milestones. This family became my family. When Dudi asked me to accompany her through her pregnancy, I didn’t think twice. And thank God, it was a healthy, normal pregnancy.”

A few weeks ago, Prof. Yagel was called into the delivery room. “Just hours later, I held Ruchama’s baby in my arms—he was six times heavier than she was at birth,” he says with emotion.

Chaim Mendel in his grandfather’s arms

Ruchama-Chaya is grateful for how smoothly the pregnancy went: “I’m happy my son was born healthy and at a good weight, not like me. It’s so much easier to care for him this way.”

The baby was named Chaim Mendel, after his grandfather. Dudi, now a joyful first-time grandfather, sums it up: “We cried for days from joy. Everyone celebrated with us. The phone didn’t stop ringing. It felt like true healing, a full-circle momen, after the birth 24 years ago.”