His name is Curtis, he is now 16 months old, and he is officially the most premature baby in the world to have survived. The Guinness World Records certified him “he was born at 21 weeks of gestation and one day, in Birmingham in Alabama (USA); it weighed only 420 grams.”
Baby Curtis reduced the previous record held by Wisconsin baby Richard, born just a month earlier, to 21 weeks and two days, by 24 hours, the BBC reports. And before Richard, the most premature baby ever had remained undefeated for 34 years (it was held by a baby born in Ottawa, Canada, at 21 weeks and five days).
A full-term pregnancy is usually 40 weeks; Curtis was born nearly 19 weeks earlier. Mom, Michelle, went into labour and was rushed to hospital on July 4, 2020, as American Independence Day fireworks filled the night sky. Michelle gave birth to twins Curtis and C’Asya, at lunchtime the next day. C’Asya didn’t make it. And Curtis held on to that shred of survival, less than 1%. The ventilator was removed after three months, and in April this year, he was discharged after 275 days in the hospital.
Curtis has three older brothers, still needs supplemental oxygen and a feeding tube, but doctors say he is in good health. In