The earliest surviving premature baby ever delivered at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital is now home with her family growing stronger every day. Chelsey Harris-Hansbrough, delivered at 23 weeks and three days gestation, weighed less than a pound when she was born Oct. 9, 2010. After more than three months in the hospital, she was discharged Jan. 22 from Adventist Hinsdale Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit at 38 weeks old and weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces.

Babies born at 23 weeks gestation have an 18 percent chance of survival, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Her original due date was Feb. 2. Chelsey is one of the tiniest surviving babies ever delivered at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital. Chelsey’s twin sister, Chazey, was delivered on Oct. 1, 2010, but didn’t survive. Bringing Chelsey home was a bittersweet time for parents Charles Hansbrough and Tamika Harris, of Hammond, Ind.

“I was scared when I delivered Chelsey, but I felt that God wouldn’t take both of my babies,” Harris says. “I knew Chelsey would make it.”

A miracle is born
Chelsey was delivered by C-section with Dr. Evangelia Zikos, a neonatologist, attending the resuscitation. Her multidisciplinary care team included obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Steven Daube and neonatologists Dr. Anthony Bell, Dr. Stavros Ionides, Dr. Jennifer Hesser, Dr. Millen Peev, Dr. Zehra Rizvi and Dr. Vibha Thaker.

Born with an infection in the blood stemming from a resistant bacteria most likely due to her mother being on a prolonged course of antibiotics when her membranes ruptured, Chelsey otherwise had a relatively uneventful stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. She did overcome a few hurdles, including the infection at birth and prolonged intake of oxygen and parenteral hyperalimentation, the administration of an intravenous solution designed to provide nutritional support. She also was examined for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a serious eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants.

“Chelsey’s prognosis is excellent,” Peev says. “None of her ultrasounds showed any intracranial bleeding, which is most reassuring. Also, she doesn’t show any need for outpatient physical therapy.”

Harris is grateful for the care she and Chelsey received at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital. Both parents drove 45 minutes every day from their home in Indiana to the hospital to be with Chelsey in the neonatal intensive care unit. Adventist Hinsdale Hospital provides Level III neonatal care, recognized by the state as the highest level of care.

“The nurses who took care of Chelsey have been exceptional,” Harris says. “They call all of the babies their babies. I told them they could claim her while she’s in here because that means they’ll take good care of her.”

According to Chelsey’s primary nurse, Gina Miller, RN, Chelsey is a tiny fighter who has overcome the odds not just to survive but to thrive in a short period of time.

“Miracles happen every day at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital and Chelsey is one of them,” Miller says.

Along with Miller, Jill Prosek, RN, was also one of Chelsey’s primary nurses.

“By the grace of God, Chelsey waited to be delivered eight days after her sister was delivered,” Hansbrough says. “That’s the miracle.”

In the United States, about 12.8 percent of babies are born prematurely (before 37 weeks gestation), but just six percent are born at less than 28 weeks gestation, according to the March of Dimes. Adventist Hinsdale Hospital’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center offers a comprehensive range of fetal diagnosis and treatment services and provides complete obstetrical care for pregnant women who are at risk for medically complicated pregnancies. There were 2,218 babies delivered at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital in 2010, including 66 sets of twins and five sets of triplets.

For more information on the maternal-fetal medicine center, call 630-856-6741.