A premature baby boy who weighed only 1 lb 2 oz when born and had a low chance of survival is now thriving at home and hitting his developmental milestones.
Baby Sebastian was born in September, over four months before his due date, after his mother, Vivian, experienced complications during her pregnancy.
Vivian’s waters broke when she was at only 18 weeks gestation due to a condition known as preterm premature rupture of membranes, or PPROM. While the condition does not mean the pregnant woman will definitely go into labour early, it does carry increased risks of infection for both mother and baby.
While Vivian’s doctors speculated that she would likely give birth within five days, and that her baby would likely be stillborn, fortunately this did not prove to be the case.
Vivian remembers one of the doctors telling her, “Hey, I am gonna be completely honest with you. I see this baby coming within the next five days. This baby is going to come, and we’re gonna consider it a miscarriage”. Despite these concerns, her pregnancy continued for another four weeks, and baby Sebastian was born at 22 weeks and one day gestation, extremely prematurely but alive.
Due to being born so prematurely, doctors had concerns about whether Sebastian’s lungs would function properly, a common issue with babies born so early. He had a very low heart rate and low levels of oxygen.
Baby Sebastian spent well over 100 days in the hospital
Baby Sebastian remained in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for 113 days, during which time he faced infections and respiratory issues.
Despite these struggles, after those 113 days, Sebastian was finally able to go home from the NICU and join his family.
“Miracles do happen because I’m living proof”, Vivian said. “I hold my miracle every single day. Every single day”.
Now, almost a year later, Sebastian weighs 14 lbs and is thriving at home. He is hitting all of the age-adjusted milestones he has been given, and is expected to grow up to be fully healthy.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “We are very glad to hear that, almost a year on, baby Sebastian is achieving great things, smashing through the expectations of those doctors who said he had such a slim chance of survival”.
“Sebastian is a living testament to the strength that all extremely premature babies have”.
