A Focus on Life

Inspiring stories of resilience and hope.

Australia’s most premature surviving baby

Stevie, was born at just 22 weeks and 2 days, weighing only 500 grams. Her parents, Bree and Jake, were travelling from Perth to Queensland when an undiagnosed infection triggered sudden preterm labour.

Despite doctors preparing the family for the likelihood of a poor outcome, Stevie defied expectations. She received highly specialised care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Townsville, Queensland. After three months of intensive treatment, she was stable enough to be transferred closer to home in Perth and is now reported to be thriving.

Her journey was far from simple. Stevie faced serious complications, including neonatal sepsis, a bowel perforation requiring surgery, and two episodes of collapsed lungs. Each of these life-threatening conditions was managed through advanced neonatal care.

Babies born this early are at the very edge of viability. Survival rates are low, often between 10–20%, and those who do survive can face significant health challenges, including chronic lung disease, brain bleeding, serious bowel conditions, and long-term developmental difficulties.

Stevie’s story is a remarkable example of what is possible with modern medicine, skilled clinicians, and dedicated care. More than that, it is a powerful reminder of the resilience of even the smallest patients.

Her life stands as a compelling witness to the inherent value of every human being—no matter how small, fragile, or early in development—and why each one deserves care, protection, and the chance to live.

Click HERE for the link to the story

Lucky

As I looked at the baby sleeping peacefully in the incubator, I realised that if the mother had presented to the hospital 12 hours earlier, this baby wouldn’t be here. How lucky for him that she didn’t.

As a neonatal nurse, I’d spent years caring for babies in the NICU, the neonatal intensive care unit. I’ll never forget the day a young overseas student presented to the hospital in labour and birthed a 1.7kg baby of unknown gestation. As the midwife handed over the history, she explained how the mother had tried to abort her pregnancy with the morning-after pill, which hadn’t worked. She hadn’t received any antenatal care because she had made plans to travel back to her country, where she knew she could get an abortion at a late stage. But before she had the opportunity to, she went into preterm labour. The baby was estimated to be about 30 weeks’ gestation.

Had this baby’s mother presented just hours earlier, they could have offered her a feticide. This procedure kills the fetus while the baby’s still inside, but because she was in established labour, it was considered too dangerous for the mother to have the procedure, so they delivered her. The baby was born in good condition and was admitted to the nursery. I explained to the other nurse in the room working with me that day, that he was lucky to be here and why. She was unaware and couldn’t believe the hospital did feticide's for this reason.

His mother came in to see him a few times, and after speaking with the social worker, decided to place him for adoption. He was healthy and needed minimal care. He spent 6 weeks in the nursery while he learned to feed and was discharged with a foster carer, whilst the adoption paperwork was sorted. A year later, the foster carer decided to adopt him into her family and at the last review, he was thriving. I nicknamed him Lucky because of his start to life, and I had a feeling he was going to do well.

Author: Neonatal Nurse (18 years) and a member of Pro-life Health Professionals Australia.