“I can’t wait to do a birth story time cause it was so crazy and intense and painful yet so perfect.”
Nash Keen had a 0% chance of survival when he was born premature at just 21 weeks old on July 5, 2024.
The baby boy was born 133 days before his expected due date and weighed just 10 ounces — less than a grapefruit or can of soda — at the time of his birth, per the University of Iowa Health Care (UIHC).
Now one year later, Nash continues to defy all odds and recently celebrated his first birthday.
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“It feels surreal, honestly. A year ago, we weren’t sure what the future would look like, and now we’ve celebrated his first birthday,” his mother, Mollie Keen, said in an interview with Guinness World Records.
“It’s emotional in so many ways: pride, gratitude, even some grief for how different his journey has been. But above all, it feels like a victory,” she added.
According to Guinness World Records, Nash is officially the world’s most premature baby of all-time.
“He's come so far, and this milestone isn’t just about turning one, it’s about resilience, hope and everything he’s overcome to get here,” Mollie Keen told the outlet.
In an interview with Today.com, she described the past 12 months as the “greatest joy of my life.”
But Mollie Keen’s journey to motherhood was more than just unconventional — it was heartbreaking.
According to the UIHC, Mollie Keen and her husband were expecting a baby girl, McKinley, less than a year before Nash was born.
“We lost her at just 18 weeks' gestation,” Mollie Keen told UIHC in an interview. “It was after that when I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix.”
Mollie Keen learned that she was pregnant with Nash six months later, but it wasn’t long before she started experiencing some concerns.
“When we went to our local doctor’s office for the 20-week scan for Nash, I just had some concerns about how I was feeling so I asked them to look at me closer,” she told UIHC.
“And they found I was already two centimeters dilated,” she added.
Mollie Keen found hope for her premature baby through UIHC
In search of hope (and answers), Mollie Keen took to an online support group where a fellow mother suggested she visit UIHC’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital for help.
She was told that the hospital was able to perform lifesaving measures on babies born as early as 21 weeks old — despite most other hospitals not treating babies that premature.
But in order to receive that hope, Nash would’ve had to be born after midnight on July 5, 2024.
“It was 2 a.m. on a Tuesday when I started contracting really heavily,” Keen told UIHC. “We rushed to Iowa City. We checked in. They got us a room. And not long after that, my water ended up breaking.”
Mollie Keen and her doctors were able to delay labor for several days — and Nash was born less than 10 hours after he surpassed the 21-week mark, per UIHC.
At last, Nash was here — but doctors still had their doubts.
“Sometimes babies born at 21 weeks are just too small for even our tiniest breathing tubes and intravenous lines,” one of Mollie Keen’s doctors, Amy Stanford, MD, told UIHC.
“Our NICU team assessed Nash, and I was able to place a breathing tube. Once we had the breathing tube in, his heart rate stabilized, and his oxygen levels were good,” Stanford explained.
At 26 days old, Randall and Mollie Keen were able to hold their baby boy for the first time.
“He was so tiny, I could barely even feel him on my chest,” Mollie Keen told Guinness World Records.
“But the moment he was placed on my chest, all my nerves disappeared,” she added. “I’d waited so long for that skin-to-skin contact – three weeks to be exact – and it felt like pure relief and love all at once.”
Nash was finally sent home in January after 189 days in the hospital
Nash spent a total of 189 days in the hospital before he was cleared to go home in January.
“They kept his heart going. They were on top of it every step of the way. They really gave him a fighting chance,” Randall Keen told UIHC.
“They were really honest with us during the whole journey about what his chances looked like. They made sure we were well-informed and kept us involved in all the decision-making,” Randall Keen added.
While Nash still has a long way to go, his doctors continue to do whatever they can to give him a full life.
“My ultimate goal for Nash is by the time he's 5 years old when he goes to kindergarten, no one will know that he was born so early,” Stanford said to UIHC.
The baby boy still needs oxygen, a feeding tube, hearing aids and specialized medical care, but he’s making strides, according to his mother.
“We’re incredibly proud of how far Nash has come,” Mollie Keen told Guinness World Records of her son.
“His progress has been amazing, especially considering how early and fragile his start was. He’s getting stronger, more interactive and making great strides with therapy,” she added.
She described her baby boy as more than just a record breaker — “he’s a heart-stealer,” Mollie Keen said.
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“From the very beginning, our family and friends rallied behind him, and as his story spread, so did the love,” she continued.
