Michelle Butler was 21 weeks pregnant with her twins (boy and girl) when she felt contractions. Her sister drove her to the hospital and Butler prayed for the contractions to stop.
But they didn’t and at around 1 pm on 5th of July in 2020, she gave birth to babies. Each of them weighed under a pound and was given less than a percent chance of survival.
The premature babies were placed on ventilators. Unfortunately, one of them, C’Asya Zy-Nell, died less than 24 hours later. The boy, Curtis Zy-Keith was hanging on and trying to breathe on his own. His heart rate was better and he showed amazing resilience.
The nurses and doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham were shocked by the baby’s strength.
According to Dr. Brian Sims, a neonatologist who cared for Curtis, the boy showed that he was going to be strong since day one.
The Boy Defied All Odds & Celebrated His First Birthday
After spending 275 days in the intensive care unit, Curtis was released. And, the Guinness World Records named him the world’s most premature infant to live to his first birthday (born 123 earlier).
Curtis is now 16-months old. Dr. Sims explains that premature babies rarely live more than a day. And, no baby has survived at this age. They tend to say less than a percent, but it’s really closer to a zero, the doctor added.
The boy’s early birth reflects the high frequency of premature births in the US. The yearly rate is around 10 percent. Curtis was born a month after the previous record-holder, Richard Hutchinson, who was born after only 21 weeks and two days of gestation.
Black women have a higher risk of preterm births. They’re 50 percent likelier to give birth to a premature baby than white women, according to data by the Population Reference Bureau.
Various factors can contribute to this, including the age and income of the mom, her overall health, and her access to prenatal care. Dr. Sims explained that it’s not entirely clear why Butler went into early labor as she had neonatal care access and went to a doctor regularly.
When her daughter died, said Butler, she had little time for grieving since she knew that Curtis was still fighting to survive. She had to be strong for him. The boy still uses a nasal cannula and a feeding tube and will need physical and speech therapy.
Still, he’s very interactive, laughs, and already has an attitude. His mom says he’s a happy baby who weighs 18 pounds, sleeps all night, and rarely whines.
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