A baby born at just 27 weeks and three days, weighing little over one kilogram and diagnosed with serious health complications, is now a healthy, loving big brother to his baby sibling.
Hannah Stenmark was 25 weeks pregnant when she felt intense kicking from the baby. She tried not to worry and thought it was normal.
Not long later, she started experiencing severe pain while taking a bath. “A flash of excruciating pain exploded across my lower back” she recalled. “I couldn’t get out – I was trapped in the bath!”.
By the time her partner Nick arrived home, Hannah was in intense pain. He helped her out of the bath and rushed her to the hospital. There, tests confirmed she was in preterm labour. “Your baby wants to come now. We need to do everything we can to keep them inside”, a doctor told her.
She was transferred by ambulance to another hospital and given medication to slow labour, along with steroids to help her baby’s lungs mature.
“I couldn’t believe this was our reality. Stay in there, bub, I pleaded”, she said.
After four days in hospital, Hannah gave birth naturally at just 27 weeks and three days. Her son weighed only 1.057kg. “I barely caught a glimpse of him” she said as her little boy was rushed into intensive care.
“Our little fighter bounced back”
Baby Jett was taken straight to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). “Seeing our baby snaked by tubes inside his incubator a couple of hours later was heartbreaking”. Hannah said. “I wish I could hold him”.
Doctors told Hannah and Nick that Jett had been born with a hole in his heart and stage two retinopathy, a condition that can lead to blindness.
Two weeks after his birth, the couple named their son Jett. At 23 days old, the hole in his heart closed following a course of medication. But only two days later, he suffered a serious setback. “He vomited overnight into his mask and inhaled it. Now one of his lungs has collapsed” a doctor explained.
Jett was put on life support but, after five days, he recovered.
At 77 days old, he underwent surgery as the retinopathy had progressed to stage four and his right retina had begun to detach. But the little fighter never gave up, and shortly afterwards, Jett was discharged from hospital.
“Being at home with Jett was so surreal” Hannah said. “We can finally start our life with you”.
By the time Hannah was expecting her second child, Jett’s vision was slowly improving. When his baby brother Ruka was born in March 2024, Jett was delighted. “He is a brave big brother, and loves holding Ru and giving him kisses”.
To honour Jett and support other premature babies and their families, Nick wrote a children’s book Your Little Head Start, which Hannah illustrated. Jett’s NICU purchased 600 copies.
“We’re so thankful our Jett is with us today, and that he fought to be here to meet his little brother” Hannah said. “We love him with all our heart”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Stories like Baby Jett’s remind us of the humanity of premature and unborn babies, who, despite their vulnerability, continue to to bring joy and hope to those around them”.
