When people hear “the age of liability” - they often imagine a single line in the sand

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]As a NICU doctor, people often ask me what the exact age of viability is. Most people think that's just a single number, but the truth is it depends. Not just on the baby, but also where the baby is born. A baby born at 22 or 23 weeks may have very different chances depending on the hospital caring for them. Why is that? Well, because not every hospital has the same resources, experience, or expertise in dealing with babies that are born this prematurely.

[00:00:23]Some centers do it every single day.

[00:00:25]They have specialized neonatal teams, maternal fetal medicine teams, and NICUs built around caring for these tiny babies. Other hospitals may only see a handful of babies born this early every year. And when we're talking about babies who weigh less than a pound, that experience matters. So, when people ask me about the age of viability, I explain that most places do have guidelines around these numbers, but that's only part of the conversation. We also think about the baby's size, the circumstances surrounding delivery, the resources available, and the expertise of the teams who will be caring for these babies. The question isn't just if the baby's viable or not, because viability isn't always just a number. Sometimes it's a conversation.