Christmas Miracle

Christmas Miracle: Baby Born 100 Days Early Home for Christmas

Even in 2021 the Lord still performs miracles, as we can see in the precious life of baby Lucas. Born at 24 weeks, 100 days premature, Lucas Simpson is a Christmas Miracle.

Laura Mount, Lucas’s mother, had only known of her pregnancy for three weeks before he entered into the world.“I was in the bath and saw my tummy move,” she said. “I had irregular periods but no symptoms at all. It was a real shock, but even finding out at 21 weeks pregnant, I thought we had time to prepare. At my first scan we found out it was a boy; we just never imagined meeting him so soon after.”

Lucas has surprised them all from the day of his birth weighing in at 1lb 6oz. He has continued to surprise his family and medical professionals since.

A Christmas Miracle and Its Chances

The Times reported on Lucas’s birth with the statistic of a baby born so early chances of survival.

The chance of a baby surviving birth at 24 weeks or later is usually high enough that doctors will attempt life-saving treatment, which involves resuscitation in the delivery room followed by care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)... But each year in the U.S. about 5,000 babies are born in the uncertain window between 22 and 23 weeks, in which their chances of survival are generally low but not zero. This is because the treatment of premature babies has undergone a slow revolution within the past 60 years, successfully treating ever younger babies.

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The Times did note that the advances in technology have allowed premies the chance to fight for life outside the womb.

This progress is not the result of any single new technology, but the slow improvement of NICU treatments around vital functions like breathing, digestion, and brain protection. For instance, newer ventilators improve respiratory support in extremely premature babies by delivering tiny puffs of air at fast rates. Buoyed by successes, some hospitals are honing their techniques and trying treatments on younger babies than ever before. If they had success with 24-week babies, the thinking goes, shouldn’t they offer treatment to 23-week babies? And after the CDC reported that 47 percent of 23-week babies survive, what about 22-week babies?

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Fighting for Life

After Lucas’s birth, he had to be “blue-lighted,” a UK term for ambulance transport, to a larger hospital that had the staff and resources to care for a baby so early in development.

“They gave me difficult information before I delivered, gently explaining the survival complications he might face. I had to be prepared for what might happen, because of how early it was,” said Laura Mount in an interview with Metro.

Thankfully miracles do happen. Lucas will be home for his first Christmas which will be celebrated with big brother Isaac, Mom, and Dad.

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