A mother was told her 1lb 11oz son “would not survive” after arriving three months early, but he has overcome the odds and is doing well. Saniah Poindexter, 19, found she was pregnant after taking a pregnancy test with her closest friend for fun. Saniah was utterly shocked to become a mother after recovering from the shock of the news. He had a normal pregnancy, according to her, and craved tuna sandwiches and rice crispy treats.
Yet, when she was 26 weeks pregnant, Saniah returned home from college feeling ill, with stomach aches, sickness, and a high fever. Stephanie Dolly Poindexter, 35, insisted that her daughter goes to the hospital.
Saniah was informed she was in active labor and that her son would arrive 14 weeks early and was warned he “would not survive”. Kayden, her four-month-old son, was born six hours later at 4 a.m., weighing only 1 lb 11 oz. He has now been released, and his mother says that he is “thriving” at home.
Business student Saniah said: “I had no complications, I had never felt sick until the day I gave birth. I was sad – I didn’t know what was happening. I did everything I could in my pregnancy to be healthy. I cried about it a lot, they told me I would be lucky if he came home. He’s defied the odds, medics told me he wouldn’t make it – he’s doing really well despite us being told differently.”
In May 2022, Saniah was startled to find out she was pregnant – saying she was “nervous but excited”. Saniah, however, complained of feeling nauseous in October, 26 weeks into her pregnancy and after a full day of college. She started having stomach pains, vomiting, and burning up according to WalesOnline.
Saniah said: “When I came home, I was feeling so sick. I couldn’t even lay down, it got to the point that I was so hot, I stood outside throwing up and my mum told me to go to the hospital.”
Saniah was moved to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital’s maternity unit after 20 minutes in the emergency room, where she was told she was in active labor. Kayden was born six hours later, at 4 a.m. on October 14, 2022, at 22 weeks and three months early.
Kayden was sent to the adjacent Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital’s NICU, where he remained for 65 days. Saniah, from Grand Rapids, Michigan in the USA, said: “I didn’t understand what was going on. I got told that I would be lucky if he came home, he was born micro-premature, and he weighed just 1lbs 11oz.
“He was an incubator for around 70 days, when I took him home, he weighed 4lbs 8oz. I knew he was special – he was the smallest boy in the hospital at the time.” Now, Kayden is four months old and is “very feisty”. Saniah said: “Bringing him home was the happiest day of my life.
“He is doing great, technically he is one month old – he is making noises and knows how to roll over. He can see me, he is always looking for me – he is a really advanced baby. It makes me feel happy.”