A baby boy born weighing just one pound has finally been discharged home after spending over a year in hospital.
Barrett Brasfield was born at just 26 weeks gestation on 6 June 2024, after his mother, Carli, had an emergency Caesarean section. Weighing only one pound at birth, Barrett was immediately taken to intensive care, where his long journey began.
For over 13 months, he remained in hospital, battling serious health issues as a result of his extreme prematurity. He faced lung issues and lung infections and, for the first eight months of his life, was cared for at the Regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, before being transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s of Alabama hospital.
Throughout the over 400 days their son spent in hospital, his parents, Carli and Roman, remained by his side, witnessing both setbacks and moments of great joy. One particularly moving moment came in April, when Barrett was fitted with a tracheotomy tube to help him breathe. This intervention made it possible for doctors to consider discharging him home.
In April 2025, 10 months after his birth, Barrett was fitted with a Passy Muir Valve, a device that allows air to pass over the vocal cords, enabling him to vocalise for the first time. His parents were overwhelmed to finally hear him cry. “Most parents don’t want to hear their baby cry”, his dad, Roman, said, “but this device allows us to hear him”.
“So to hear him cry for the first time was a huge day for us”.
Barrett is now full of life. At 13 months old, he can roll over, sit up, eat, laugh and play, and now weighs a healthy 18 pounds.
“You would never believe he has been in the hospital for 400+ days because he is just so full of life”, Carli said. He is “so full of joy”.
The day they were finally able to take Barrett home was long-awaited. “It’ll be an amazing moment to take him home and cross the threshold of our home with him for the first time”, Roman said. “We’ve had a nursery set up for months”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “It is very moving to hear about Barrett’s journey. His life is a testament to the strength of premature babies and the extraordinary efforts of neonatal teams and devoted parents. Stories like Barrett’s remind us that even the tiniest babies can defy the odds and go on to live happy, healthy lives”.
