{"id":7727,"date":"2026-02-28T20:21:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T20:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=7727"},"modified":"2026-02-28T20:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T20:21:44","slug":"patrick-bouvier-kennedys-death-changed-jfk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=7727","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Bouvier Kennedy&#8217;s death changed JFK"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>On August 7, 1963, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/11\/22\/us-news\/kennedy-tragedy-timeline-after-tatiana-schlossberg-diagnosis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">delivered her youngest child<\/a> via an emergency caesarean section at an Air Force Base Hospital in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p>Baby Patrick was five and a half weeks premature, and doctors immediately knew there were problems with his labored breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe infant had a translucent grapelike coloring, warning of an insufficient flow of oxygen to nourish the body,\u201d writes Steven Levingston in \u201c<a data-aps-asc-tag=\"nypost-20\" data-aps-asin=\"166803316X\" data-wrapped-template=\"https:\/\/r.nypostlink.com?btn_ref=org-19984c113c692001&amp;btn_url\" href=\"https:\/\/r.nypostlink.com?btn_ref=org-19984c113c692001&amp;btn_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FTwilight-Camelot-Patrick-Bouvier-Kennedy%2Fdp%2F166803316X%3Ftag%3Dnypost-20%26asc_refurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2026%2F02%2F28%2Fhealth%2Fpatrick-bouvier-kennedys-death-changed-jfk%2F%26asc_source%3Dweb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Twilight of Camelot: The Short Life and Long Legacy of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy<\/a>\u201d (Gallery Books; out now).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Jackie Kennedy gave birth to her second son, Patrick, in August 1963.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The baby was rushed to the Children\u2019s Hospital in Boston shortly after his birth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Patrick developed symptoms of hyaline membrane disease (HMD), later called infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), and didn\u2019t survive, but his death would push doctors to come up with better treatment options<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cHis case motivated neonatology researchers to push the boundaries of innovation,\u201d Levingston writes.<\/p>\n<p>The President had been aboard Air Force One when Patrick was born. He arrived soon after, the baby was quickly baptized, and, hours later, rushed to Boston\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital, where he was placed in a hyperbaric chamber filled with oxygen.<\/p>\n<p>Jackie was too weak from surgery to visit her son, so the President spent hours at the hospital.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>He died of infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>He was buried next to Jack and Jackie Kennedy\u2019s first child, a stillborn daughter named Arabella.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the early hours of August 9, doctors summoned the President, who had taken a break in the hospital basement, and told him he needed to come back immediately.<\/p>\n<p>At a few minutes past 4 a.m., Patrick\u2019s overtaxed lungs gave out, and his heart stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe died inside a colossal steel contraption while his father peered in at him through a porthole,\u201d writes Levingston.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018He put up quite a fight,&#8217;\u201d Jack murmured. \u2018He was a beautiful baby.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Press secretary Pierre Salinger remembers that the President, \u201cwalked away from us and through a door into the hospital boiler room.\u2019 Out of sight, \u2018he wept for ten minutes.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Patrick\u2019s short life and death are recounted in \u201cTwilight of Camelot: The Short Life and Long Legacy of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jackie later told historian and Kennedy special assistant Arthur Schlesinger that Jack collapsed in grief, the first time they saw each other after Patrick\u2019s death. She was \u201cstunned\u201d by his emotions, having \u201cnever seen anything like that in him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The couple had already weathered several losses.<\/p>\n<p>Before giving birth to Caroline in 1957 and John Jr. in 1960, Jackie had multiple miscarriages. In 1956, she\u2019d given birth to a stillborn daughter while Jack was on a cruise in the South of France \u2014 supposedly a \u201cbacchanale,\u201d with young women \u201cgetting on and off the boat at its ports of call.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Jack was informed that Jackie had given birth to a daughter, whom they had planned to name Arabella, he initially refused to come home. It was only when a friend advised the then-senator that it would hurt his chances to run for president if he didn\u2019t that he reluctantly returned to the States and his grieving wife.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The loss of Patrick brought the President and his wife closer together.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>John, seen here before his wedding to Jackie, contracted a venereal disease in college, which may have contributed to his children\u2019s premature births.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some in the fecund <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/25\/lifestyle\/jfk-jr-carolyn-bessette-kennedys-love-story-inspired-an-nyc-fashion-renaissance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kennedy family<\/a> blamed Jackie\u2019s difficulties on her heavy smoking habit, but her husband may have contributed to his wife\u2019s challenging pregnancies.<\/p>\n<p>When he was a senior at Harvard, he contracted \u201ca venereal disease that presented the symptoms of chlamydia which persisted for years,\u201d writes Levingston. \u201cToday, chlamydia in pregnant women is known to cause premature labor, low birth weight, and fetal development outside the uterus, resulting in miscarriage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The President channeled his grief over Patrick\u2019s death into action.<\/p>\n<p>In October of 1963, he signed a two-bill package totaling $594 million ($6.1 billion in today\u2019s dollars) that set aside research into maternal and child health, improved prenatal care in impoverished areas and establishing research centers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>John, Jr., born in 1961, was also a premature birth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIn 1963, hyaline membrane disease was killing an average of 25,000 babies a year in the United States,\u201d writes Levingston. \u201cThe chance of survival at that time was about 50 percent for a baby, like Patrick, born six weeks early with a lung ailment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the 1990s, thanks to government-funded research, the respiratory disease had largely been eliminated as a primary cause of death for premature babies.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Robert DeLemos, who helped deliver Patrick, was devastated by the baby\u2019s death and dedicated the rest of his life to finding a solution. He worked to develop a ventilator \u2014 the Baby Bird \u2014 specifically for infants\u2019 needs. It would give children like Patrick a nearly 99% chance of survival.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>In the wake of Patrick\u2019s death, Jackie agreed to campaign with the President.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOver the years, Patrick\u2019s story informed DeLemos\u2019 teaching,\u201d Levingston writes. \u201cThe loss of the President\u2019s baby had a powerful impact on him, one he never forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The author notes that the loss also brought John and Jackie closer together. Just over three months after his passing, a grief-stricken Jackie uncharacteristically agreed to accompany her husband on a campaign tour to Texas.<\/p>\n<p>It would be on that tour, on November 22, 1963, that JFK would be shot and killed, sitting next to his wife.<\/p>\n<p>He was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital in a desperate attempt to save his life.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>The campaign trip included a swing through Dallas, where JFK would be shot and killed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Month\u2019s before he was assassinated, JFK signed a bill for maternal and fetal research.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After he was declared dead, Jackie remembered that her husband had slipped a St. Christopher medal into Patrick\u2019s casket and wanted to do something like that.<\/p>\n<p>Jackie slid off her wedding ring and, while alone with Jack\u2019s body, tried to slide it on to her husband\u2019s pinky. It stopped at the knuckle, but an orderly stepped in with some hand cream she managed to get it on.<\/p>\n<p>The First Lady kissed the President\u2019s hand and bid <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script\n\t\t\t\ttype=\"text\/plain\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"optanon-category-C0017\"\n\t\t\t\tdefer\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t!function (f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\n\t\t\t\t\tif (f.fbq) return;\n\t\t\t\t\tn = f.fbq = function () {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tn.callMethod ?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments)\n\t\t\t\t\t};\n\t\t\t\t\tif (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\n\t\t\t\t\tn.push = n;\n\t\t\t\t\tn.loaded = !0;\n\t\t\t\t\tn.version = &#8216;2.0&#8217;;\n\t\t\t\t\tn.queue = [];\n\t\t\t\t\tt = b.createElement(e);\n\t\t\t\t\tt.async = !0;\n\t\t\t\t\tt.src = v;\n\t\t\t\t\ts = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\t\t\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s)\n\t\t\t\t}(window, document, &#8216;script&#8217;,\n\t\t\t\t\t&#8216;https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js&#8217;);\n\t\t\t\tfbq(&#8216;init&#8217;, &#8216;1391750046313645&#8217;);\n\t\t\t\tfbq(&#8216;track&#8217;, &#8216;PageView&#8217;);\n\t\t\t<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/28\/health\/patrick-bouvier-kennedys-death-changed-jfk\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On August 7, 1963, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis delivered her youngest child via an emergency caesarean section at an Air Force Base Hospital in Massachusetts.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}