how early can a baby be born and survive?

Question

just wondering because i know technology now days is magnifcient, and what kind of problems would these babies have? any info would be great! just to clear things up i am ot trying to have my baby now, thats not why iam wondering, just wanna know if anyone has been through it?

Answer 1

The earliest gestational age at which the infant has at least a 50% chance of survival is referred to as the limit of viability. As NICU care has improved over the last 40 years, viability has reduced to approximately 24 weeks, although rare
that threshold even if the infant survives, there are ethical controversies over the aggressiveness of the care rendered to such infants. Some of the complications related to prematurity are not apparent until years after the birth. For example, children who were born prematurely (especially if born less than 1,500 grams) have a higher likelihood of having behavioral problems, delays in motor development, and difficulties in school. Prematurely born infants are also at greater risk for developing serious health problems such as cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease, gastrointestinal problems, mental retardation, vision or hearing loss and are more susceptible to developing depression as teenagers.

Neurologic

* Apnea of prematurity
* Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
* Intracranial hemorrhage
* Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)
* Developmental disability

Cardiovascular

* Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)

Respiratory

* Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS or IRDS)
* Chronic lung disease (previously called bronchopulmonary dysplasia or BPD)

Gastrointestinal / metabolic

* Hypoglycemia
* Feeding difficulties
* Rickets of prematurity
* Hypocalcemia
* Inguinal hernia
* Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)

Hematologic

* Anemia of prematurity
* Thrombocytopenia
* Hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice)

Infectious

* Sepsis
* Urinary tract infection

James Elgin Gill (born on 20 May 1987 in Ottawa, Canada) was the earliest premature baby in the world. He was 128 days premature (21 weeks and 5 days gestation) and weighed 1 lb. 6 oz. (624 g). He survived and is quite healthy.

Amillia Taylor is also often cited as the most-premature baby. She was born on 24 October 2006 in Miami, Florida, at 21 weeks and 6 days gestation. At birth she was 9 inches (23 cm) long and weighed 10 ounces (283 grams). She suffered digestive and respiratory problems, together with a brain hemorrhage. She was discharged from the Baptist Children's Hospital on 20 February 2007.

Answer 2

Although there have been very very rare cases of a 21 or 22 weeker surviving it's not the norm, and chances at this age are less than 1%. At 23 weeks babies have about a 10% of survival, so that's pretty much the earliest, and of those 23 weekers that have survived most are girls. Girl tend to do better than the boys. At 24 weeks it jumps to 50%-70%, depending on the situation. By 28 weeks the survival rate is over 90% and the chance of having any permanent cognitive delays is very low.

Answer 3

The earliest I have heard of a fetus being born and surviving was 20 weeks but the baby had a horrible time. Didnt leave the hospital until well after it was supposed to be born. To make a long story short at about 30 weeks babies have a 90% chance of becoming healthy babies. Their problem is infection, feeding, and breathing. At that age suprisingly they have trouble eating and if your baby isnt eating they cant come home. They usually give steroids to help their lungs develop. Hope this helps. Good luck Im 32 weeks, and if it was worth the trouble I would have my son now. But Id rather him come when he is ready.

Answer 4

The earliest baby to ever be born and survive came into the world at 21 weeks gestation. (You may have heard the stories about her - Amillia Sonja Taylor.) Before this, a baby had never been known to survive before 23 weeks. Because of this little girl's birth and survival, doctors are now studying the subject more thoroughly to find out if more premature babies can be saved.

Premature babies usually have some catching up to do...and that will depend on to what degree their prematurity is. Just because they are outside the womb does not mean that premature babies are at the same level as full-term babies concerning physical, motor, and mental development. They need to "finish" their gestational period outside the womb before they're able to do the same things that full-term babies can.

Sometimes, if premature birth is predicted for a mother, doctors can have better luck making conditions better for the baby to survive. There are, for example, injections that the mother can receive to help the baby's lungs develop. If premature birth happens without warning, the situation can be more critical.

Just for comparison, a baby born before 37 weeks is considered premature. However, a baby born at 36 weeks has a MUCH higher chance of survival than a baby born at 23 weeks. Good luck!

Answer 5

The shortest gestation period known for a live birth was Amillia Sonja Taylor born Oct. 24 after just under 22 weeks in the womb.

Babies born earlier than 25 weeks are generally classed as medically “non-viable,” while just half of the babies born at 25 weeks manage to survive.

Answer 6

early baby born survive

Answer 7

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RE:
how early can a baby be born and survive?
just wondering because i know technology now days is magnifcient, and what kind of problems would these babies have? any info would be great! just to clear things up i am ot trying to have my baby now, thats not why iam wondering, just wanna know if anyone has been through it?

Answer 8

Twenty weeks is the earliest premature birth that has survived. Survivals before 23 weeks are extremely rare. With medical technology constantly changing and improving, these numbers will hopefully become obsolete in the future.

Infants born prematurely have an increased risk of death in the first year of life (infant mortality), with most of that occurring in the first month of life (neonatal mortality). Worldwide, prematurity accounts for 10% of neonatal mortality, or around 500,000 deaths per year. In the U.S. where many infections and other causes of neonatal death have been markedly reduced, prematurity is the leading cause of neonatal mortality at 25%. Prematurely born infants are also at greater risk for developing serious health problems such as cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease, gastrointestinal problems, mental retardation, vision or hearing loss and are more susceptible to developing depression as teenagers.

Answer 9

I work in the neonatal ICU unit. Staff will as routine rescusitate any baby born before after 23 weeks. Before this, the majority of hospitals will ask the mother before attempting rescusitation.At the moment we have a 23 weeker in the unit, he is doing very well. Growing well and hanging in there. Babies born this early are slighlty more prone to brain damage, but most are fine.

Answer 10

Chances of the baby surviving outside the womb increase considerably at 24 weeks. They will probably be in the hospital for months though.