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The tiniest babies: Shifting the boundary of life earlier

Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) The sun shines through an awning at The University of Alabama at Birmingham Women's and Infant Center in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means plays with his mother, Michelle Butler, at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. After his premature birth, Curtis stayed in the newborn intensive care unit for nine months. Butler made the 90-minute trek from her home in rural Eutaw to Birmingham several times a week. She read books to Curtis and often held him inside her shirt so his skin touched hers. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Dr. Brett Turner, pulmonologist and medical director of The University of Alabama at Birmingham/Children's of Alabama bronchopulmonary dysplasia program sits for a portrait in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Turner sees Curtis Butler every two or three months to manage his ongoing lung disease. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means plays in his walker at home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Growing numbers of extremely premature infants, like Curtis, are getting life-saving treatment and surviving. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Dr. Brian Sims, neonatologist with the department of pediatrics at The University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital, recounts the birth of Curtis Means, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Birmingham, Ala. “A baby that’s trying to live will show you that. You’ll see that the baby’s trying to take a breath,” Sims said. “We support the babies that give us those signs.” (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means and his mother, Michelle Butler, sit with their certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. In July 2020, Curtis became the earliest surviving “micropreemie” in the world. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means crawls around as his mother, Michelle Butler, keeps an eye on him at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Growing numbers of extremely premature infants, like Curtis, are getting life-saving treatment and surviving. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) Curtis Means kisses his mother, Michelle Butler at their home in Eutaw, Ala., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Butler was just over halfway through her pregnancy when her water broke and contractions wracked her body. She couldn’t escape a terrifying truth: Her twins were coming much too soon. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
The tiniest babies: Shifting the boundary of life earlier