So small and weak. Its very future in the hands of those amazing specialists who work their magic on Britain's neonatal wards.
And then the parents. Consumed by emotions ranging from sheer terror and helplessness, to a feeling of failure, forboding and of having let their offspring down.
Sara-Jo Cooper and Brian Shackleton know this painfully well. Their baby daughter Ellis weighed just 1lb 5oz and was only six inches long when she was born prematurely at 24 weeks.
What followed was a frightening journey, one described by Sara-Jo says as the most isolating and terrifying experience anyone could possibly imagine.
In Ellis's case there was a happy ending. She is now 18 months old and, while smaller than other children of her age, she has grown into a cheeky and inquisitive little handful.
Her parents, so indebted to the staff of Calderdale Royal have now pledged to raise £36,000, the cost of a new neonatal incubator, like the one that saved their little girl's life.
A very humble and moving way of saying thankyou to the hospital.
And of how much the wonderful people who work there are appreciated.