A mum has told how giving birth to her premature daughter weighing less than a bag of sugar was the scariest thing in the world".
Jaz Smith needed to give birth to her daughter 14 weeks early as her liver was starting to fail and it was thanks to the work of doctors and nurses at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby that they both survived.
Ayla-Grace was born weighing 1lb 15oz on April 29 despite having been given a due date of August 3, reported WalesOnline.
No blood was flowing to the baby forcing a premature birth and then further complications saw Ayla-Grace born with the cord wrapped around her neck four times over.
She later required heart surgery within the first few months of her life and still requires oxygen today, but her mum says she is "absolutely thriving" now.
Jaz said she knew something was wrong when she started experiencing swelling.
"I was told it was too early to be pre-eclampsia by the doctors as I was only 24 weeks gone. And then the week after I rung the hospital again because my swelling just wouldn’t go down," she said.
"I was then admitted at 25 weeks and was in hospital for a week. For me that was the hardest time because I wasn’t allowed to see my eldest son who was only three-years-old. I really struggled being away from him."
Jaz was eventually diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and recalled how much pain she was in.
She said: "My test results came back that I had pre-eclampsia and I was going to hit full blown eclampsia mode within seven to ten days. I begged the doctors to let me out and come in for daily checks but they kept me in one more night and that’s when my world got turned upside down.
"I was terrified and all I remember thinking was - 'I never thought this would happen to me'. But when it does, it’s the most scariest thing in the world."
Things then took a turn for the worse.
"I had three doctors in my room at 2am in the morning listening to my daughter's heartbeat and they brought a sonographer in to check her," Jaz said.
"In the process of that we found out that my liver was failing and I’d had a placental abruption - a serious condition in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus before birth.
"My daughter had no blood flow and they’d said it had been like that for a good few days. They then told me that if we didn’t get her out soon, then she wouldn't make it and neither would I.
"When my daughter was born, she had the cord wrapped round her neck four times over and it took more then one doctor to get it off her."
Ayla-Grace was taken to Hull's neonatal unit where she spent six days before being transferred to Scunthorpe General Hospital for another three weeks.
In a traumatic period for the family she was then moved back to the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital where her mum found out she needed major surgery.
Jaz said: "Within the first few months of her short life, she underwent open heart surgery which was extremely traumatic. I was told she had a hole in her heart that didn’t close properly.
"She also has chronic lung disease, the long-term lung damage, due to being born so early. She still requires oxygen today but she is absolutely thriving.
"The experience of having a premature baby, whether it is four weeks or 14 weeks, is absolutely heartbreaking. It's the most scariest thing to ever go through, especially when you have other children as well.
"Premature babies are little miracles and they really do just thrive off life. My baby girl is nearly seven months old now and I feel incredibly lucky to have her in my life."
