Alabama boy sets record as most premature baby to survive

From Washington Examiner.com (Nov. 10, 2021):

A boy from Alabama who was born at 21 weeks of pregnancy set a world record for being the earliest premature baby to survive.

Curtis Means was born in Birmingham, Alabama, 132 days premature on July 5, 2020, and weighed only 14.8 ounces, the Associated Press reported. Guinness World Records and UAB Hospital announced Wednesday that he had broken the world record.

Curtis had a twin sister, C’Asya, who died one day after birth.

Dr. Brian Sims explained that premature babies have a far greater chance of health complications and not surviving long after birth.

“We typically advise for compassionate care in situations of such extremely preterm births,” Sims said in a statement from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which runs the hospital where Curtis was born. “This allows the parents to hold their babies and cherish what little time they may have together.”

He says Curtis beat the odds after he was discharged from the hospital after 275 days of growing in strength.

“Being able to finally take Curtis home and surprise my older children with their younger brother is a moment I will always remember,” mother Michelle Butler said.

Curtis still needs a feeding tube and supplemental oxygen, but Sims says he is in good health now considering how premature he was born.

“We do not know what all the future will hold for Curtis since there is no one else like him,” Sims explained. “He started writing his own story the day he was born. That story will be read and studied by many and, hopefully, will help improve care of premature infants around the world.” [source]

Nice.