Baby Born At 21 Weeks Holds World Record For Most Premature Infant To Survive

A baby boy who was born at 21 weeks and one day of gestation last year is now a Guinness World Record holder. The child, who is now a little over 1-year-old, was recognized Wednesday as the most premature infant to survive.

The baby's mother, Michelle Butler, was only five months pregnant when she was rushed into emergency labor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital. Pregnant with twins, she delivered her babies on July 5, 2020, 4 months ahead of their actual due date.

A full-term pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks, but the twins were born at just 21 weeks and one day of gestation, according to CNN.

Butler welcomed her baby boy and baby girl, Curtis and C'Asya. Unfortunately, the little girl was much less developed than her brother and passed away a day later due to complications.

As for Curtis, he weighed only 14.8 ounces, which is just as heavy as a soccer ball. He was given constant care, which helped him grow stronger each passing day. In fact, he was on a ventilator for the first three months of his life. He stayed at the hospital for a total of 275 days, where he received around-the-clock care.

With the continuous care of plenty of nurses and therapists who helped feed and care for Curtis, he was finally sent home on April 6, 2021. Though he is still on special treatment and medication, including a feeding tube and bottled oxygen, he is much healthier now.

"Being able to finally take Curtis home and surprise my older children with their younger brother is a moment I will always remember," Butler told UAB as per CNN.

According to Guinness World Record, which gave Curtis the recognition just in time for Prematurity Awareness Month, the child broke the record after beating the odds.

"Survival at this gestational age has never happened before, so before Curtis was born his chances of survival would have been far less than 1%," Dr. Colm Travers, assistant professor at UAB's Division of Neonatology, said in a statement to Guinness World Record.

The baby who previously held the world record was born on June 5, 2020, a month before Curtis' birth. Richard Hutchinson, from Wisconsin, was delivered at 21 weeks and two days of gestation. Prior to his birth, the record remained unbroken for 34 years.