Preterm birth
James Elgin Gill (born on 20 May 1987 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) was the earliest premature baby in the world, until that record was broken in 2014. He was 128 days premature (21 weeks and 5 days' gestation) and weighed . He survived.
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Infant incubator – Although infant incubators were invented in the year 1888 by Drs. Alan M. Thomas and William Champion, these devices were not immediately widely used. To increase awareness of the benefits these units provided, infant incubators containing premature babies were displayed at the 1897, 1898, 1901, and 1904 World Fairs. This piece of medical equipment helped neonates with compromised immune systems by providing a sanitary environment to reduce the likelihood of acquiring an infection. Each incubator was an air-tight glass box with a metal frame. Hot air was pumped into the container to keep a constant temperature. Newspapers advertised the incubators with "lives are being preserved by this wonderful method." During the World Fair in 1904, E. M. Bayliss brought these devices for exhibition on The Pike where approximately ten nurses cared for twenty-four neo-natal babies while in the infant incubators. The exhibit required an entrance fee of twenty-five cents and visitors could also purchase souvenirs and refreshments from the adjoining shop and café. These proceeds, totaling $181,632, helped to fund Bayliss's project. There were some setbacks with the infant incubator display as the sanitary conditions were not always consistent and some babies died of illness. The incubator area was then modified by installing glass walls to separate the babies from visitors, thus decreasing the exposure of the infants. The science and technology behind the incubators has since been expanded upon. Now known as "isolettes," these units are a vital component to caring for neonates in modern neonatal intensive care units.