{"id":21560,"date":"2025-08-02T10:07:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T14:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=21560"},"modified":"2025-08-02T10:07:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T14:07:19","slug":"born-19-weeks-early-worlds-most-premature-baby-achieves-major-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2025\/08\/born-19-weeks-early-worlds-most-premature-baby-achieves-major-milestone.html","title":{"rendered":"Born 19 Weeks Early, World\u2019s Most Premature Baby Achieves Major Milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"
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University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Little baby Nash Keen, affectionately called \u201cNash Potato,\u201d celebrated his first birthday on July 5. It was a major milestone for little Nash, who overcame huge obstacles prior to his big day. When they found out they were expecting, Nash\u2019s parents, Mollie and Randall Keen of Ankeny, IA, were hopeful but concerned. Mollie suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and an incompetent cervix, which can cause premature labor. The couple had lost their daughter, McKinley, at 18 weeks gestation six months earlier. While she was pregnant with Nash, the couple was \u201cexcited,\u201d but Mollie added, \u201cWe didn\u2019t get our hopes up<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a twenty-week check, Mollie was having concerns. \u201cWhen we went to our local doctor\u2019s office for the 20-week scan for Nash, I just had some concerns about how I was feeling, so I asked them to look at me closer \u2014 which they normally don\u2019t do at that appointment \u2014 and they found I was already 2 centimeters dilated,\u201d she told Fox News Digital<\/em><\/a>. The couple feared they were going to lose another baby. Mollie was put on bed rest to delay her labor and taken to Stead Family Children\u2019s Hospital, part of the University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City. The hospital\u2019s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) provides care for premature babies born at 21 weeks or later. Mollie\u2019s labor was stalled up until Nash reached the 21-week marker, when he was delivered 133 days before his due date.<\/p>\n

Nash was born at 9.5 inches and 10 ounces, less than a grapefruit, and needed specialized care due to his small size. Dr. Amy Stanford oversaw his resuscitation and discussed some of the special challenges of caring for such an early baby. \u201cCaring for a baby born at 21 weeks is very different from typical premature cases. Babies born this early require highly specialized care, constant surveillance and frequent monitoring \u2013 every hour can make a difference,\u201d she said<\/a>. \u201cWhile Nash faced many critical challenges early on, he showed remarkable resilience. After those first few extremely delicate weeks, he began to make steady progress, which was truly extraordinary to witness.\u201d While the doctors worked tirelessly to care for Nash, they also wanted the family to be aware of the risks and struggles ahead. Mollie described Nash\u2019s first few days as \u201ca blur of fear, uncertainty and hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nash would ultimately spend 6 months in the hospital before he would be released home in January 2025. Nash continues to have medical needs: he is being weaned off oxygen, has a feeding tube, and wears hearing aids for mild hearing loss. Dr. Stanford, however, has been thrilled by his progress. \u201cWatching him grow and thrive fills me with immense pride \u2013 not only for Nash himself but also for his family and the entire care team who made his success possible,\u201d she said. \u201cNash is truly history in the making, paving the way for the care of other babies born as early as he was.\u201d Her ultimate goal for Nash is that \u201cby the time he’s 5 years old when he goes to kindergarten, no one will know that he was born so early.”<\/p>\n

Nash has also received special recognition for being the world\u2019s most premature surviving baby. Mollie called making it to Nash\u2019s first birthday \u201csurreal.\u201d \u201cIt feels surreal, honestly. A year ago, we weren\u2019t sure what the future would look like, and now we\u2019ve celebrated his first birthday,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s emotional in so many ways: pride, gratitude, even some grief for how different his journey has been. But above all, it feels like a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Little baby Nash Keen, affectionately called \u201cNash Potato,\u201d celebrated his first birthday on July 5. It was a major milestone for little Nash, who overcame huge obstacles prior to his big day. When they found out they were expecting, Nash\u2019s parents, Mollie and Randall Keen of Ankeny, IA, were hopeful but concerned. Mollie suffers from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":21563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-messages"],"yoast_head":"\nBorn 19 Weeks Early, World\u2019s Most Premature Baby Achieves Major Milestone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Born at just 21 weeks, baby \u201cNash Potato\u201d beat the odds to celebrate his first birthday\u2014becoming the world\u2019s most premature surviving baby.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2025\/08\/born-19-weeks-early-worlds-most-premature-baby-achieves-major-milestone.html\" 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