Premature baby born weighing one pound is home from the hospital

A premature baby born weighing just one pound is now home from the hospital after doctors initially said he may not survive.

Key Takeaways:

• Baby Kingston was born at 25 weeks in an emergency C-section to save him and his mother. He weighed just one pound.

• Doctors told his family he may not survive because his lungs were underdeveloped, but he pulled through, and after 622 days in the NICU, he is home with his family.

• Babies born as young as 21 weeks are capable of surviving when given proper medical care, but it is still legal to kill them via abortion in many states.

The Details:

Baby Kingston Bryant was born at 25 weeks in December 2023, weighing just 455 grams — about one pound. He was delivered via an emergency C-section after his mother, Kaycee Hartman, developed preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome and was hospitalized for a few days before doctors determined they had to deliver Kingston to save both mother and child.

“They told us that he wasn’t going to make it,” Hartman told WDRB. “They brought the family in and told us that sometimes these kids, as they continue to grow, their lungs are just so premature that they wouldn’t be able to exceed a certain age.”

But Kingston beat the odds.

He spent the first 16 months of his life after birth in the neonatal intensive care at Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, with his mother staying at the Ronald McDonald House nearby. Also by his side was Tonya Smith, a nurse who promised to see him make it home, even after her contract with the hospital ended.

According to the family's GoFundMe page, Kingston overcame multiple obstacles, surgeries, and moments in which his family did not believe he would survive. But now he is home with his mother, his father, Kris, and his two older siblings.

"We promised King a while back that he's going to move his palace," said Smith. She flew back to Kentucky from her new job in Georgia to see Kingston home.

"You can't count these kids out," she said.

The Bottom Line:

Survival rates are increasing for babies born prematurely thanks to both medical advancements and doctors willing to provide preemies with care. According to recent research, between 2014 and 2023, active treatment rose from 28.8% to 78.6% for babies born at 22 weeks, and survival rates for those infants increased from 25.7% to 41%. For babies born at 23 weeks, active treatment rose from 87.4% to 94.7% and survival rates for babies who received active treatment rose from 53.8% to 57.9%.

Among all babies born at 22 weeks, regardless of whether they received active treatment, survival increased from 7.4% to 32%. For those born at 23 weeks who did not receive active treatment, survival rose from 46.9% to 54.7%.

Babies born as young as 21 weeks also have a chance at surviving when given proper care, yet abortion is still legal at this age in pro-abortion states. Numerous states allow abortion through 24 weeks, while nine states and Washington, D.C. allow abortion through all 40 weeks of pregnancy.