The mother of a baby boy who was born at just 25 weeks weighing less than a loaf of bread has said he is thriving.
Kaylie, a student, had a straightforward pregnancy until February when she started to experience swelling around her eyes and ankles. Friends and family told her this was a normal part of pregnancy, but she was in so much discomfort she couldn’t walk so decided to seek medical advice. She was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia shortly afterwards.
Kaylie had to be monitored continuously, and was told that since her blood pressure was continuing to rise, she would need to deliver her baby right away to prevent a seizure or eruption.
“They were prepping me for a c-section and I was wheeled into the OR at 4:45am”, Kaylie said. “They did the first cut at 5:11 and Weston was out by 5:15”.
Her son, baby Weston was born by Caesarean section at just 25 weeks, weighing 1lb 6.6oz.
Kaylie said “I remember when he came out he cried which was a good sign for a baby of his size”.
“As long as he lived, we didn’t care what things there were to overcome”
Weston was taken straight to the neonatal intensive care unit. His mum said “It was agonising not seeing him because I had no idea what he looked like and I was disconnected from him no longer being in my womb and that took a big toll on me”.
Due to the fact that he was born so prematurely, in the first few weeks after Weston was born, he had weak lungs and Kaylie was told that if he survived he would be sent home on oxygen.
Kaylie said “That wasn’t a worry as long as he lived, we didn’t care what things there were to overcome”.
“When I got to hold Weston for the first time I was a little scared as he was connected to so many wires. He was sleeping on my chest and it is a feeling that is hard to describe – it was perfect”.
“He was so soft and so light, it was the most amazing moment I have ever had in my life – I didn’t want to let him go”.
“Waiting on him to come home”
Now after six weeks in hospital, Weston has made good progress even though he remains on a ventilator, with Kaylie reporting that doctors are looking at taking him off the ventilator altogether.
“Weston proved everyone wrong and is showing how strong he really is now we are just watching him grow and waiting on him to come home”.
“I will be able to hold him every day with no fears while reading him a book while an incubator no longer separates us. I want to do the things you see mothers doing on social media and right now my baby seems so far away”.
“I will no longer have to travel to see him and he’ll be right under my nose and that’s all I could ask for”.
Over 30 years since the time limit for abortion was last updated to take into account changes in survival rates
At 25 weeks, Weston was born just after the current abortion limit in England and Wales. The time limit of 24 weeks for abortions performed under section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act 1967, was introduced by section 37 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.
Prior to this change, the abortion limit had, de facto, been 28 weeks gestation set by the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, which made it illegal to “destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive”.
The introduction of a 24-week gestational limit in 1990 was significantly motivated by the results of a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) working party report on neonatal survival rates, which noted improvements in survival rates before 28 weeks of gestation.
During the debates ahead of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 becoming law, MPs referred to medical advances that had led to improved neonatal survival rates before 28 weeks gestation and the need for a reduction from 28 weeks.
Similarly, when the question of abortion time limits was revisited in 2008, the lowering of the abortion time limit in 1990 was again linked to the increased survival rates for babies born before 28 weeks gestation.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “We wish baby Weston all the best on his journey to recovery and hope that he will be able to go home with his mother very soon. Babies like Weston demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit, even in the very smallest babies, and show that there is no real difference between born and unborn babies”.
