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Doctors thought this little football fan would die 30 minutes after birth, but he’s thriving six years on

A prematurely-born Lincoln City Football Club fan has received a surprise makeover of his bedroom after a charity decorated it in homage to his team.

Young Oscar from Lincoln was born prematurely and suffered brain damage as a result. Doctors thought it unlikely that he would live for more than about 30 minutes after birth.

But Oscar refused to give up on life, and six years later, he’s a huge Lincoln City fan along with his older sister and younger brother.

Oscar’s Dad, Ashley, said “Oscar’s first game was when his sister was actually mascot against Grimsby when we were in the National League, and since then he’s been a season ticket holder…”

Oscar even had the chance to score a goal at his team’s stadium. Using a special piece of equipment that attached him to his father because he could not walk by himself, he was able to kick the ball and score a goal from the penalty spot.

Make-A-Wish charity and street art company, MurWall, joined forces to give his bedroom a total makeover covered with the insignia of Lincoln City.

Almost four out of five babies born prematurely between 22 and 28 weeks gestation survive to discharge from the hospital according to recent research.

A study, ‘Mortality, In-Hospital Morbidity, Care Practices, and 2-Year Outcomes for Extremely Preterm Infants in the US, 2013-2018’, by Dr Edward F Bell of the University of Iowa, found that from 2013 to 2018, with infants born between 22 and 28 weeks gestation, “survival to discharge occurred in 78.3% and was significantly improved compared with a historical rate of 76.0% among infants born in 2008-2012”.

The study, which took place between 2013 and 2018, assessed 10,877 infants born between 22 and 28 weeks gestation in 19 academic medical centres across the US.

This means that almost four out of five extremely prematurely born babies survived and were able to be assessed at 22-26 months corrected age (22-26 months from their due date) for a number of health and functional outcomes.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “Prematurely-born babies’ lives matter as much as anyone else’s. It’s great to see Oscar receiving the love of his family and the support he needs.”

Dear reader,

You may be surprised to learn that our 24-week abortion time limit is out of line with the majority of European Union countries, where the most common time limit for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds is 12 weeks gestation.

The latest guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks. The latest research indicates that a significant number of babies born at 22 weeks gestation can survive outside the womb, and this number increases with proactive perinatal care.

This leaves a real contradiction in British law. In one room of a hospital, doctors could be working to save a baby born alive at 23 weeks whilst, in another room of that same hospital, a doctor could perform an abortion that would end the life of a baby at the same age.

The majority of the British population support reducing the time limit. Polling has shown that 70% of British women favour a reduction in the time limit from 24 weeks to 20 weeks or below.

Please click the button below to sign the petition to the Prime Minister, asking him to do everything in his power to reduce the abortion time limit.