Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital said Tuesday that a baby born 15 weeks premature at just 688 grams was discharged on Friday, following five months of intensive treatment.
The infant, named Stetson, was delivered on Oct. 2 by emergency cesarean section after his mother, a US military family member, developed severe preeclampsia. She was airlifted from Daegu to Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital for high-risk neonatal care.
“The mother’s condition had advanced beyond pregnancy-induced hypertension or mild preeclampsia, with seizures and blood pressure that could not be controlled by medication,” said Kang Byung-soo, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology who performed the delivery.
“It was a life-threatening situation that could have led to cerebral hemorrhage, heart failure or respiratory failure.”
The baby was born in critical condition and was unable to breathe independently, requiring immediate intensive care. Through months of treatment, Stetson’s respiratory function stabilized, feeding improved and his body weight steadily increased to 3.5 kilograms.
Stetson's case comes amid a rise in premature births in South Korea, a trend linked to increasing maternal age. A full-term pregnancy is about 40 weeks, and survival rates drop sharply as gestational age decreases.
Infants born before 24 weeks are known to face particularly low survival rates. In some countries, aggressive resuscitation is not always pursued due to poor prognoses. The hospital, however, explained that advances in neonatology have led to more active treatment in South Korea, with some infants surviving even when born at 22 weeks.
Stetson faced multiple life-threatening complications, including neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary hypertension, brain hemorrhage and retinopathy of prematurity, but overcame each with sustained intensive care and collaborative treatment.
“The dedication and teamwork of our neonatal staff, nurses and specialists across departments made this possible,” said Kim Se-yeon, a professor of pediatrics and the infant’s attending physician. “We are also deeply grateful to the parents, who traveled frequently between Seoul and Daegu and cared for their child with unwavering devotion.”
Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital operates a direct patient transfer hotline with US military hospitals, which enabled the swift transfer of Stetson’s mother, according to the hospital.
The hospital was designated last year by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as the only regional maternal and neonatal medical center in the Seoul metropolitan area. The designation entrusts the hospital with comprehensive care for high-risk mothers and critically ill newborns.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
