About seven years ago, Julie Lockey Brown welcomed her youngest out of three children, Ethan, a few weeks too soon. Although a few weeks does not sound like it would make too much of a difference, it made a world of difference for Ethan.
Ethan was welcomed into the world at a suggested 29 weeks (suggested because Julie didn't know she was pregnant, so Ethan's post-conceptional age was unknown.)
When Ethan was welcomed into the world he weighed 2lbs. 5oz.
While Ethan was fighting for life outside of the womb he was also fighting against:
bilateral intraventricular hemorrhage
patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
Ethan spent 13 weeks in the NICU before he could go home.
Pregnancy Journey
Every pregnancy journey is different than the other, and Julie's pregnancy journey with Ethan was unknown. Julie did not know she was pregnant until she was having contractions with Ethan.
According to Jena Pincott, author of The Surprising Science of Pregnancy,
"1 out of 2,500 women are oblivious they're pregnant until after they go into labor"
Julie was one of these women that was oblivious to her pregnancy. Thankfully Julie is not a smoker or drinker, so Ethan was not exposed to harmful developmental diseases caused by these components.
Julie also said none of her other children were premature births, and she did not know anyone in the NICU before Ethan had to be admitted for 13 weeks.
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Ethan Today
Today Ethan is considered autistic, which can be contributed to his premature birth. If Ethan would have been welcomed into the world a few weeks earlier it is much more likely that Ethan would have had many more complications and a higher percentage of not making it out of the NICU.
Aside from his autism, Ethan is a healthy boy that loves trains :)
Congratulations Ethan!
Photos provided by Julie Lockey Brown.
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