A Minnesota family has a lot to celebrate: Richard Hutchinson, who has been touted as the world's most premature baby to ever survive, has celebrated his first birthday.
Richard was born 131 days early on June 5, 2020. He weighed only 11.9 ounces at the time of his birth. Dr. Stacy Kern, who took care of the baby during his months in the NICU, told People that his prospects weren't great.
"When Rick and Beth received prenatal counseling on what to expect with a baby born so early, they were given a 0% chance of survival by our neonatology team."
Parents Beth and Rick are understandably thrilled. Beth said, "It doesn't feel real. We're still surprised about it. But we're happy. It's a way we can share his story to raise awareness about premature births. He is a very happy baby. Always has a smile on the adorable little face of his. His bright blue eyes and smile get me every time."
After Richard's birth, Beth and Rick spent two hours a day making the journey from St. Croix County, Wisconsin, to the hospital where he was being treated. Dr. Kearn says she believes their effort went a long way.
"I credit his miraculous survival to his wonderful parents who were there for him every step of the way and to the entire neonatology team at Children's Minnesota. It takes a village to care for and support these babies until the time they are ready to go home."
The baby has even made it into the Guinness Book of Records. The organization released a press release earlier this month about his inclusion. It reads:
"When Beth and Rick Hutchinson (both USA) welcomed their son into the world on 5 June 2020 – several months ahead of schedule – he was so small that he could fit into the palm of one of their hands."
The release continues, "Weighing a mere 340 g (11.9 oz) – about the same as a can of soup, or one-tenth of the average weight for a full-term newborn – the initial prognosis for Richard Scott William Hutchinson was far from optimistic."
It also notes that doctors prepared Richard's parents for the worst:
"In fact, after he was first transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children’s Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis, doctors felt duty bound to prepare his parents for the worst."
The family started a GoFundMe page to help cover expenses associated with traveling back and forth to visit Richard. Beth shared part of the journey it took to conceive Richard in the first place:
"He is our little miracle and a blessing to begin with. I was told I may not be able to have children. When I met my husband. We knew we were meant to be together. we wanted to start a family. So I did everything to try to give us the family we wanted. A month after we got married I lost our first at 7 weeks on November 10th, 2018. My doctor told me that it may be possible to conceive again."
She continued: "On June 3rd, 2020 I wasn't feeling good. So I made an appointment and went in to see my doctor. He checked me out and said I was dialed to 3 cm. I was admitted to Abbott the same day and went into labor. I prayed that he would stop and he would stay in there longer. They told me that they wouldn't do anything for him because of his size and gestational age. That wasn't an option for us. we fought so hard to have him. We told them we wanted them to try."
