Alabama boy named world's most premature infant to survive

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – An Alabama lad who weighed little than a lb astatine commencement aft his parent went into labour astatine lone 21 weeks and 1 time of gestation has been certified arsenic the world's astir premature babe to survive.

Guinness World Records and UAB Hospital announced Wednesday that Curtis Means, who weighed lone 14.8 ounces (420 grams) astatine birth, acceptable the caller record. Born 132 days premature connected July 5, 2020 with a duplicate who didn't survive, Curtis is present steadfast and 16 months old.

Dr. Brian Sims, who was the attending physician, said statistic amusement that children calved truthful young person virtually nary accidental of survival, but Curtis bushed the odds.

“We typically counsel for compassionate attraction successful situations of specified highly preterm births," Sims said successful a connection from the University of Alabama astatine Birmingham, which operates the hospital. "This allows the parents to clasp their babies and cherish what small clip they whitethorn person together.”

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Instead, Curtis grew stronger and stronger and was discharged aft 275 days successful the hospital. He needed assistance from therapists to statesman utilizing his rima and eating.

“Being capable to yet instrumentality Curtis location and astonishment my older children with their younger member is simply a infinitesimal I volition ever remember,” parent Michelle Butler of agrarian Eutaw, Alabama, said successful a statement.

A fetus is considered afloat word astatine 40 weeks, but Butler went into labour aft carrying twins conscionable implicit fractional that magnitude of time. She was transferred to UAB Hospital, which has a determination neonatal intensive attraction unit, wherever she gave commencement to Curtis and C'Asya.

C'Asya died a time later, but Curtis was capable to travel disconnected a ventilator aft 3 months. Following months of round-the-clock care, helium went location successful April.

While Curtis inactive needs a feeding conduit and supplemental oxygen due to the fact that helium was truthful premature, Sims said he's successful bully wellness considering however aboriginal helium was born.

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“We bash not cognize what each the aboriginal volition clasp for Curtis since determination is nary 1 other similar him," Sims said. "He started penning his ain communicative the time helium was born. That communicative volition beryllium work and studied by galore and, hopefully, volition assistance amended attraction of premature infants astir the world.”

Guinness said Curtis bushed by a time the erstwhile record, which held for lone a month. Richard Hutchinson, from Wisconsin, was calved astatine a gestational property of 21 weeks, 2 days successful June 2020.

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