A boy in the US state of Alabama has created Guinness world record for being the earliest premature baby to survive.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Curtis Zy-Keith Means was born to Michelle Butler on 5 July 2020 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital in Alabama, USA, at a gestational age of 21 weeks 1 day, or 148 days, making him 132 days premature. The original due date had been 14 November 2020.
The Guinness World Records and UAB Hospital announced on Wednesday that he had broken the world record. Curtis had a twin sister, C’Asya, who died one day after birth.
In a statement from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which runs the hospital where the boy was born, Sims said, “We typically advise for compassionate care in situations of such extremely preterm births. This allows the parents to hold their babies and cherish what little time they may have together.”
Brian Sims, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics in the UAB Division of Neonatology, was the attending physician on-call when Butler arrived.
Premature babies have a far greater chance of health complications and not surviving long after birth, explained Dr. Brian Sims in a statement.
“Numbers show that babies born so young have little to no chances of survival,” Sims said. “We typically advise for compassionate care in situations of such extremely preterm births. This allows the parents to hold their babies and cherish what little time they may have together.”
“Being able to finally take Curtis home and surprise my older children with their younger brother is a moment I will always remember,” Michelle Butler, mother of the child said.
Curtis still needs a feeding tube and supplemental oxygen, but he is in way better health now, the hospital said.
A global media for the latest news, entertainment, music fashion, and more.
