1-Pound Baby Born Early Aboard Cruise Ship Survives

“To see all the little characteristics that he has gained in the short time already has been wonderful”.

“His lungs were fully developed, so his prognosis is good”, says Morgan. Emily Morgan was due in December and got clearance from her doctor to take a 7-day cruise to the Caribbean at the end of August. “There was no fear”, she told the News.

Morgan told the AP her pregnancy had been uneventful until that point, so she was shocked when the contractions began just past the halfway mark in her pregnancy.

But she and her husband called medical staff when they saw blood.

“It’s a true inspiration that a little baby that you don’t even really know can be so motivated to live and so strong”, his mother said.

A doctor aboard the Royal Caribbean ship told Morgan they were still 14 hours from the nearest port in Puerto Rico, so she couldn’t give birth, but the mom of two said holding back was far from an option.

Morgan was told to rest as doctors whisked the premature baby away. I could feel him kicking and stretching. “I had felt him inside my womb”. About 45 minutes later, medical staff said the baby had survived but was not expected to live long. Her son was brought to her wrapped in towels and wearing an oxygen mast on his face.

“I was sitting with the baby, and he could hear the baby crying”, she said.

As the hours went on, she insisted he be wrapped in fresh, dry towels, and she helped staff tuck microwaved saline packets around him to create a makeshift incubator. Black spots were appearing on his fingers, per the AP, indicating he was losing circulation.

After three days at a hospital in Puerto Rico, Haiden was airlifted to Miami. What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation to celebrate their daughter’s birthday quickly turned into a nightmare when Morgan went into early labor on the family’s second night aboard.

A Utah family is praising Royal Caribbean worldwide following a miraculous birth aboard the Independence of the Seas earlier this month.

“The guest gave birth to a baby boy in the ship’s medical facility”, the company said.

Meanwhile, the captain of the boat sped to Puerto Rico, and it arrived about two hours early.

According to KSL, Haiden was kept alive through the night by Emily and the medical team as they made sure he was covered up and warm. “We wish our guest and her baby much health and happiness”. Any baby born before 37 weeks is considered premature; a baby born at 23 is considered severely abnormal, and has only a 30 percent chance of survival. From there, his family hopes to return to their home in Utah where Haiden can continue treatment at Primary Children’s Hospital until December, the month of his due date.

In this September 11, 2015 photo provided by Emily Morgan, Chase Morgan holds his son Haiden’s hand at the Miami Children’s Hospital.