A baby born weighing less than a pound has beaten the odds and celebrated his first birthday, becoming the most premature baby to survive.
When Richard Scott William Hutchinson was born five months prematurely — recognized by Guinness as the world’s most premature baby — his doctors prepared his parents for the worst.
Richard was born at Children’s Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after his mother, Beth Hutchinson, suffered medical complications that caused her to go into labor.
Born 131 days prior to the expected due date and weighing just 11.9 ounces, Richard was so tiny his parents could hold him in a single palm of their hands.
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.
Dr. Stacy Kern, Richard’s neonatologist at Children’s Minnesota, told Guinness World Records, “I knew the first few weeks of Richard’s life would be very difficult, but I felt that if he could make it through that, he would be a survivor.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Richard’s parents were unable to stay overnight with him at the hospital, and his other family members couldn’t visit him either.
In December 2020, after spending more than six months in the hospital, Richard was able to go home with his family.
On June 5, the lucky baby got to celebrate his first birthday surrounded by family and their three dogs.