Issues@Hand

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September 2020 – Hospital officials in Decatur, Georgia, did what much of the medical world deems impossible. They discharged a baby born prematurely at 21 weeks’ gestation from the NICU into the world.

Jemarius Jachin Harbor Jr., born weighing only 13 ounces, went home with his parents in late June making him “the youngest-ever surviving premature baby.”

When Jemarius’ parents came to the hospital in December 2019 with his mother in premature labor, they were adamant that doctors try to save their child despite the odds against him.

“I just want you to try. As long as you try, that’s all that matters to me,” one of his parents said. “Don’t just up and say that you can’t do it. Just ‘cause you haven’t done it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

According to disrn.com, Jemarius’ survival supports “the conclusions drawn by a 2016 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics that found when provided active rather than palliative care, over 70% of babies can survive a premature birth.”

disrn.com, 6/22/20