Babies born prematurely or with congenital disabilities don’t always meet milestones at the same rate as other children, and for one Colorado baby born both prematurely and with birth defects, that meant having to wait four long months before getting to hear his mom’s voice.
Matthew Swetnam was born eight weeks early and weighed only 2 pounds, 11 ounces. He was also born with several congenital disabilities because of a congenital cytomegalovirus, CMV, and had to spend the first 47 days of his life in the NICU. “Matthew was born with congenital cytomegalovirus (“CMV”), which is similar to the Zika virus and is the leading viral cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities. Matthew has suffered greatly from congenital CMV,” his mom Erin Swetnam explained.
“Matthew has hepatitis and an enlarged spleen, as well as cysts and calcification on his brain. Additionally, he is deaf,” Erin said. So for the first few months of his life, Matthew was never able to hear his own mother’s voice. That all changed when he was fitted with hearing aids at four months.
The emotional moments was all caught on camera and when Matthew first heard his mom’s voice, his eyes adorably bulged from their sockets before letting out a stunned cry. “Is mama’s voice not very pleasant?” joked Erin, who couldn’t help but cry at the special, yet overdue, moment. “In the future, he will most likely receive bilateral cochlear implants.”
Watch the entire video below to see the precious moment this tiny baby hears his mom speak for the first time.
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[Featured Image: YouTube/Erin Swetnam]
Deaf Four-Month-Old Hears Mom’s Voice For The First Time is an article from: LifeDaily