Micro-preemie home after spending 236 days in the NICU

A Pennsylvania family is celebrating after finally being able to bring their baby home, following 236 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Key Takeaways:

• Sharifa Jackson unexpectedly gave birth to daughter Arya at just 24 weeks pregnant.

• Arya battled a number of health challenges, including a heart defect and severe lung disease.

• She was finally discharged from the hospital after 236 days in the NICU.

The Details:

Sharifa Jackson unexpectedly went into early labor last August, when she was 24 weeks pregnant. Her daughter, Arya, was born weighing just over one pound.

Over the next months, Arya battled a number of health challenges, including a heart defect and severe lung disease. She also had to undergo multiple blood transfusions.

"I didn't know anything about a NICU or NICU life or a baby that could weigh one pound," Sharifa explained. She praised the quality of care little Arya received.

"We've been through so many hospitals. Everybody, our nurses, doctors from Jersey, to CHOP, to King of Prussia, every person who cared for her loved her so much," she said. "I never worried when we weren't at the hospital because they took care of her like their own."

Finally, after 236 days in the hospital, little Arya was able to join her parents at home.

"I think we got on the steps [and] I said, 'Whose baby is this?' Not that I couldn't imagine it happening, it was just so long we got used to living in the NICU," Sharifa said of that experience. "When you get to this point and can bring your baby home, you don't remember the other times."

Zoom In:

Sharifa and her husband, Jaro Moravek, recently went on the Tamron Hall Show to talk about life outside the NICU.

Baby Arya Goes Home After 236 Days in the Hospital

“We’re trying to figure out our new normal living outside of the hospital," Sharifa told Hall. "I mean, it’s been great. We can take her for walks, we can play with her whenever we want to, we can hold her whenever we want to. And she’s developing great."

The Bottom Line:

Thanks to advancements in medicine, micro-preemies like Arya are increasingly surviving and thriving. This family's story demonstrates that every baby, even the very smallest, deserves the best possible care and a chance at life.