Premature baby goes home and expected to thrive after over 100 days in hospital

Image credit: Luma Pimentel via Unsplash

A baby boy who was born three months early via an emergency c-section, has gone home and is expected to thrive after spending over 100 days in the hospital.

According to the Daily Mail, Daphne Washington Chatman was informed early on in her pregnancy that she had hypertension and was high risk for developing preeclampsia, a serious condition that can affect both mother and baby.

During her 26-week check-up, Chatman’s blood pressure was dangerously high, and so was admitted to hospital for monitoring. Doctors hoped that bed rest would help, however, after a few days, continuing the pregnancy was no longer possible, and Chatman delivered her baby via an emergency c-section.

“My body was starting to fail in pregnancy, so they decided to do an emergency C-section,” Ms Chatman said.

Her baby boy, Raylan, was born three months prematurely, and weighted just one pound and ten ounces, however, he was considered small for his age.

“He looked like a baby that was 25 or even 24 weeks,” said neonatologist Doctor Fernando Soares. “His lungs were even less developed than we thought.”

A team of doctors, nurses and therapists from Baton Rouge General Hospital provided baby Raylan with the care he needed, and over time he grew stronger until by the time his original due date came around, he weighted seven pounds and six ounces. After 107 days in the hospital, baby Raylan has since been strong enough to come home for the first time, and is expected to thrive.

“I didn't get to hold him until three weeks,” Chatman said. 'I got to see him, and my first touch was in a week-and-a-half.”

“I'm ready to show him his room and be in our element. Wake up and see him right there.”

Wishing to offer words of support to mothers who endure the same experience, she added “Don’t think it's your fault because it's not. I definitely blamed myself for having an early baby.” 

“If you don't have it, you'll get faith,” she continued. “Just stay strong and positive. Let people help you.”

“When I first started doing this, the outcomes were not always great,” said Dr Soares. “But our specialty is evolving as we speak. We're getting better equipment, better medications and better knowledge of what to do.”

“It's a blessing to be able to watch these babies grow and become strong enough to go home,” he added.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented saying: “What amazing news! We are delighted that baby Raylan is now thriving and able to be home to be with his family! What a brave mother for sharing the story of her precious child and bravo to the team at Baton Rouge General Hospital for coming together and showing how we can provide love, support and care to families going through a high-risk pregnancy and preterm birth.”