Preemie weighing a pound at birth ‘graduates’ after 81 days in NICU

A premature baby born at 27 weeks’ gestation and weighing in at only one pound has been permitted to go home from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after an 81-day stay.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Baby Kate was born 13 weeks premature after her mother was diagnosed with a short cervix and early dilation.

• She remained in the hospital NICU for nearly three months before her “graduation” — complete with cap and gown — to go home on March 17.

• It is legal in many states to abort children the same age as (and older than) the age at which baby Kate was born.

THE DETAILS:

Baby Kate’s mother, Kareena, was only 24 weeks into her pregnancy when she began to feel abnormal symptoms and underwent an ultrasound at the recommendation of her OB/GYN.

“Then they had a high risk doctor come and speak with me,” Kareena recalled. “At that point, she let me know that my cervix was very short and basically that [Kate] was going to be born early.”

After three weeks of bed rest, Kareena’s physicians confirmed that she was beginning to dilate and that Kate’s journey out of the womb had begun. While Kate’s due date was originally March 27, she was ultimately born 13 weeks premature on December 26 and immediately started the fight for her life.

“I got to see her for two minutes. So it wasn’t long that we got to lay eyes on her, but we were glad we did,” Kareena shared, adding that, when she was discharged weeks ahead of Kate, she, “did a lot of sobbing that night because it was just the first night we were going home without her.”

READ: FACT CHECK: Is a pro-life law forcing a brain dead pregnant woman to stay on life support?

Kate’s team of physicians and nurses in the NICU quickly grew fond of her as she overcame various challenges, on multiple occasions needing to be revived after she ceased breathing; the little girl eventually progressed to a healthier weight of 5 pounds and learned how to eat from a bottle effectively. 

“It really felt like she had accomplished something so great,” Kareena said. 

The team at the hospital surprised Kate’s parents with a “graduation” party on March 17, the day she was discharged, which included dressing Kate in a cap and gown over a pink onesie that read “Peace out NICU, I’m moving in with my parents.”

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Notably, in over half of U.S. states, it is legal to kill a preborn child in the womb even at 27 weeks’ gestation — the point at which Kate was born.

“We were just so proud of her for getting through 81 days. Now she’s moving on and ready to go out into the world,” Kareena reflected. “It’s hard to see the end in sight at the beginning when you’re right in the thick of everything. But once it’s done, it’s the most amazing feeling.”