A mother who was told that her unborn baby had almost no chance of survival has given birth to a healthy boy after ignoring advice by doctors to terminate her pregnancy.
Rachel Collins, from Tamworth, Staffordshire was diagnosed with oligohydramnios, which meant that her baby was surrounded by too little amniotic fluid.
Abortion
As a result of the condition, doctors advised Rachel that her baby only had a 10 per cent chance of survival, and that she should consider opting for an abortion.
“The doctor didn’t mince his words. This baby will die, the best thing you can do is terminate it", she said.
Perfectly healthy
But after defying medical advice, Alfie was born perfectly healthy at 30 weeks by caesarean last October.
Following her 20-week scan, Rachel and her partner were told that if Alfie would survive, he would be born without kidneys and have no lung function.
She said: “I could feel my baby was alive, he was moving, how could I get rid of him? There was no way I was terminating my baby, I thought if he’s not meant to be, I will miscarry - but I knew I had to try.”
Rachel had suffered an ecoptic pregnancy just weeks before falling pregnant with Alfie, but decided to continue with the pregnancy despite the risk of losing two babies in one year.
Diary
She kept a day-to-day account of her nine month pregnancy, hoping that the journal would help her to grieve if she lost Alfie.
“I decided to keep a diary from the minute I found out I was pregnant, to show our baby how much we wanted him,” she said.
“But when I was told he wasn’t going to survive, I didn’t feel as though I could stop writing - I thought it would help to keep going.
“When Alfie is older I shall give it to him, it will be a testament to how much we wanted him and how hard we fought to bring him into the world.”
She added: “He came out screaming - he defied them all. He is a little miracle. It was a nightmare pregnancy, but every day he was hanging on was a blessing, he is now 6lb 14oz and has no health problems.”
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