World’s most premature baby defies all medical odds to reach 1st birthday

World’s most premature baby defies all medical odds to reach 1st birthday

Doctors initially gave Nash Keen zero chance of survival when he was born 133 days early

Nash Keen is pictured at 1 month old with his mother, Mollie Keen. He was born 133 days early, at just 21 weeks gestation. (University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital)

Nash Keen is pictured at 2 weeks old (left) and at 11 months old (right). (University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital)

Nash Keen is pictured at 3 weeks (left) and at 14 weeks (right). The medical team at Stead Family Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) provides life-saving care for babies born at 21 weeks gestation and later. (University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital)

Nash Keen is pictured at 4 weeks old with his mother, Mollie Keen (left) and at 7 weeks old (right). (University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital)

Nash Keen is pictured with his parents, Mollie and Randall Keen, at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital on June 4, 2025. Nash was born in July 2024 as the earliest baby ever born at 21 weeks, 0 days gestation. (University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital)

After more than six months in the hospital, Nash Keen was finally released from the NICU in January 2025. He has survived with very minimal complications and is home and thriving. (University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital)

Claire Goeke DNP, a nurse practitioner in the NICU followup clinic, evaluates Nash Keen at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital Pediatric Specialty Clinic on June 4, 2025. (University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital)