Boy Born 19 Weeks Early and Weighing 14.8 Ounces Entered Into Guinness Records

A boy who weighed just 14.8 ounces when he was born 21 weeks early was certified by Guinness World Records as the most premature baby to survive, the Associated Press reported. Guinness World Records, which documents record-breaking achievements and occurrences, and the hospital operated by the University of Alabama at Birmingham announced the new record Wednesday.

Curtis Means was born 132 days early in July 2020, weighing less than a pound, along with his twin. While the twin was not able to survive, doctors guided Means along a slow and intensive recovery process from the extremely early birth. He is now healthy at 16 months old, the AP reported.

Dr. Brian Sims, who was the attending physician during his birth, said that statistics indicate a baby born so prematurely has extremely low chances of survival. But Means managed to defy the odds.

"We have never been able to bring a baby that young to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit so [Curtis] was literally the first of his kind. We were in uncharted territory," Sims said.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

"We typically advise for compassionate care in situations of such extremely preterm births," Sims said in a statement from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "This allows the parents to hold their babies and cherish what little time they may have together."

Instead, Curtis grew stronger and stronger and was discharged after 275 days in the hospital. He needed help from therapists to begin using his mouth and eating.

"Being able to finally take Curtis home and surprise my older children with their younger brother is a moment I will always remember," mother Michelle Butler of rural Eutaw, Alabama, said in a statement.

A fetus is considered full term at 40 weeks, but Butler went into labor after carrying twins just over half that length of time. She was transferred to UAB Hospital, which has a regional neonatal intensive care unit, where she gave birth to Curtis and C'Asya.

C'Asya died a day later, but Curtis was able to come off a ventilator after three months. Following months of round-the-clock care, he went home in April.

"We do not know what all the future will hold for Curtis since there is no one else like him," Sims said. "He started writing his own story the day he was born. That story will be read and studied by many and, hopefully, will help improve care of premature infants around the world."

Guinness said Curtis beat by a day the previous record, which held for only a month. Richard Hutchinson, from Wisconsin, was born at a gestational age of 21 weeks, 2 days in June 2020.