Given a 3% chance of survival, preemie born at 22 weeks is home

When doctors notified one expectant mother that her baby had a 3% chance of survival after her water broke at just 18 weeks pregnant, the prognosis was bleak.

However, this same baby, born at 22 weeks, returned home from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) just in time for Mother’s Day 113 days later.

Key Takeaways:

• In 2025, Vivan Hernandez found out she was pregnant, but suffered preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) at 18 weeks.

• Doctors initially said her baby had just a 3% chance of survival.

• Her son was born at 22 weeks, and weighed just one pound.

• He spent 113 days in the NICU before going home with his family.

The Details:

Vivian Hernandez realized she was expecting a child over Mother’s Day weekend in 2025. Her pregnancy progressed normally at first, but at 18 weeks, her membranes ruptured, causing her water to break far earlier than anticipated. 

Hernandez was moved to HCA HealthONE Presbyterian St. Luke’s in Denver, Colorado, where her baby’s prognosis remained uncertain.

"They're like, ‘He has a 3% chance of surviving, or even that you can even get to delivery would be 3%,'" Hernandez told KUSA-TV Denver, adding that the doctors assisting her in trying to save her pregnancy could not make any promises about whether it would be successful. 

Eventually, Sebastian Moncivais was born on September 11, 2025, at just 22 weeks and one day gestation, weighing only about one pound. His father, Henry Moncivais, said, “He was as big as my hand.” 

The infant spent nearly two months in the NICU at HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s on a ventilator, receiving intravenous nutrition along with several medications during that period. 

Dr. Jennifer Zank, a neonatologist and medical director at HCA HealthONE Rocky Mountain Children’s, admitted that there were times when she doubted Sebastian would pull through. 

"The first few weeks of his life, I was really not sure if he was going to survive. I really was not. There were days that I would call his mom, Vivian, and say, 'I'm not sure he's going to survive today,'" Zank said.

“At 18 weeks, you're not ready. There's no way you're ready. Twenty-two weeks is when you start saying, OK, maybe we've got a shot here. And even then, we're at the edge of viability,” Zank continued.

In time, Sebastian was able to feed himself and breathe independently without the help of a ventilator.

“To be born at 22 weeks and then to go home before your due date, eating everything by mouth, and really the only thing that you need is oxygen support — that speaks volumes,” Zank said. 

Zoom In: 

Baby Sebastian was discharged after 113 days in the NICU, arriving home two weeks ahead of his initial due date, and just days before his older sister Raelynn’s birthday. 

“We just didn't know if she was ever going to be able to meet him face to face, and when we were to bring him home, we actually brought him home a couple days before her birthday," Hernandez said. "That was the only thing she wanted for her birthday, was to meet her baby brother, and we were able to do that. And just that memory is the core memory that just sits with me of my two kids in the same room in the same house. It was amazing."

At the moment, baby Sebastian weighs around 12 pounds, and is achieving developmental milestones appropriate for his adjusted age after his NICU stay.

Given the circumstances, Mother's Day reminded Hernandez “of how strong, as a mom, you have to be to carry your family through the ups, the downs.” 

“If anything in this world I'm doing right, it's being their mom, and that's all I can ask for and that's all I want in this life,” Hernandez said.

The Big Picture:

Viability is typically seen as 24 weeks, though babies have survived as young as 21 weeks gestation. Sebastian's case was striking because he was discharged before his due date, able to eat by mouth, and needing only occasional oxygen support. 

Episodes like Sebastian’s birth demonstrate both the unpredictability of medical prognoses and the resilience of vulnerable infants in face of adversities. 

Although doctors depend  on statistics and percentages to help in their prognoses, individual outcomes can differ drastically. Situations involving early pregnancy complications are often portrayed in clinical terms, with emphasis on risk and probability.

Yet medical advances have also contributed immensely towards enhancing outcomes for premature infants. 

The Bottom Line:

Fortunately, in Sebastian’s case, he is now thriving outside the hospital, despite once being regarded as unlikely to live. His testimony points to the fact that every life, regardless of how fragile or delicate, is worth safeguarding and fighting for.  

Even in challenging pregnancies, choosing life can pave the way for preborn babies’ chances of survival. What once seemed like an impending loss has become a powerful testament to hope in the face of profuse challenges. 

As Hernandez acknowledged, “... My faith in God is so big and I, you know, I just literally surrendered it to God and I was like, this is Your will, not mine.”