Tiny baby born at 23 weeks with 25% chance of survival had hands size of dad's nails
dailystar.co.ukbaby who was born at just 23 weeks had hands the size of her father's fingernails, her parents have said."Miracle" survivor Elsie spent 10 weeks on life-support after being born premature at the Royal Oldham Hospital in Greater Manchester on June 17 last year, reports the Mirror.She weighed just 1lb 10z when she was delivered during a difficult pregnancy in which mum Katie Hampson suffered a heavy bleeding.Katie and husband Rob feared the worst for their baby eight weeks in when doctors diagnosed the bleeding as a subchorionic hematoma.This takes place due to a build-up of blood between the uterine wall and the outer foetal membrane.Now, new photos released by the couple show how Elsie's miniscule hand was the same size as her dad's fingernail.
Katie of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, said: "It was horrific because I just didn't know if I was going to lose Elsie or not."I was living with the unknown so I just couldn't relax or enjoy my pregnancy and even in hospital there was no guarantee she would be alive."After I pushed her out, I sat on the bed and looked at her and then was uncontrollably sick.The full-time mum-of-two revealed that she was told the newborn just a 25 per cent chance of survival, adding: "Her body was the size of Rob's hand and that photo of her hand against her dad's hand doesn't even show how small she was - her little hand was no bigger than his fingernail."She was so tiny but perfectly formed with her little eyelashes, fingernails and toenails.
She was tiny like a little doll. She's a little miracle, she's overcome so much and survived - it's a miracle."Elsie was kept in the NICU on a ventilator for nearly 70 days, but was finally allowed to go home on 30th October 2021 — a whole five months after.
Read more on dailystar.co.uk
