A baby girl from Newport has celebrated her first birthday after being born weighing just 328 grams.
Baby Robyn was born at just 23 weeks and two days, when she was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. She was initially placed in a sandwich bag to keep her vital organs warm, and required a ventilator to breathe. After developing sepsis, she required 16 blood transfusions.
Now after over a year of care across two hospitals, she is now a far healthier weight of 7kg.
âWe are so proud of herâ
For Robynâs first birthday, the staff at Noahâs Ark Childrenâs Hospital in Cardiff made an effort to make the day special.
âCelebrating Robyn’s first birthday was a milestone at times we thought we would never reachâ, her mother Chantelle said.
âWe were able to spend the day in a separate cubicle and enjoy some privacy while family and friends visitedâ, she went on. âThe cubicle was decorated with banners and balloons, it looked amazingâ.
Her father Daniel added âRobyn was really spoiled with lots of lovely gifts and messages. We are so proud of her and what she’s overcome this year is truly amazingâ.
In spite of seemingly insurmountable odds, Robynâs parents say that she is âheading in the right directionâ to being allowed to return home.
Chantelle said, âSpending a whole year in hospital has been challenging for us as parents. The last year has had many ups and downs but Robyn has made lots of progressâ.
Premature babies are increasingly surviving with improved medical intervention.
At just over 23 weeks, baby Robyn was born before the current legal abortion limit of 24 weeks. Babies like Robyn highlight the clear contradiction at the heart of British abortion law and current medical practice.
On the one hand, the law permits ending the lives of babies at 22 and 23 weeks, and, on the other hand, current medical practice strives to save the lives of many babies born prematurely at 22 or 23 weeks gestation.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said âCongratulations to baby Robyn on reaching her first birthday after such a challenging year of medical treatment! We hope that she continues to improve and is able to return home soonâ.
âBabies like Robyn demonstrate the strength and resilience of human life, and point to the humanity of unborn and preborn children before the abortion limit of 24 weeks. Hopefully stories like Robynâs will help to change the minds of legislators considering a reduction in the abortion limitâ.
