A baby born weighing less than a loaf of bread at just 535g has finally returned home after five months in hospital fighting for her life. Lauren Ormston, 27, gave birth at just 23 weeks after going into premature labour at St Peter's Hospital, Surrey, on 4th March 2022.
Doctors gave baby Isla just a 10% chance of survival as she was so small. Lauren and her fiancé Oliver Dewey, 31, had only just been reassured at a 20-week scan that ''everything was fine''.
After realising that severe stomach cramps could be labour, first-time mum, Lauren, Health-Care facilitator, was induced at 7:20pm and gave birth in two hours with only gas and air at 9:17pm. Baby Isla was rushed to the neonatal unit and was later diagnosed with level two bleed on the brain and a hole in the heart.
After spending five months in a hospital, Isla, now 10lb 8oz, was finally discharged on July 12th 2022. Lauren, from Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, said: "I was given the all clear on my 20-week scan, so you can imagine my surprise when I was giving birth just three weeks later.
"I started getting terrible stomach pains and I just thought the baby was moving around, but when the pain intensified, I knew something was wrong. The birth was easy, and I only had gas and air.
"I could only cuddle Isla for six minutes before she was taken to a ventilator. She looked so small and fragile, like she would snap at the slightest bit of movement.
"I was so worried, but I knew my baby girl was a fighter. It's a miracle that she survived."
The couple found they were expecting their first child on 2nd November 2021 and Lauren's pregnancy was initially smooth sailing. All her scans came back healthy and she expected to welcome her baby in July 1st 2022.
But on March 4 2022 she began to get severe pains in her abdomen and decided to get checked out. Her local GP recommended she make her way to Frimley Park Hospital, Camberley, Surrey, for tests.
But when Lauren arrived there, medics informed her she was in labour and gave the baby just a 10% chance of survival. Lauren said: ''They suggested getting transferred to a bigger hospital which would increase the chance to 30%.
''It was terrifying. But I had to take the chance, and I'm so glad I did.''
After travelling to St Peter's Hospital with Oliver, HGV Driver, Lauren was immediately induced and later gave birth to baby Isla, weighing just 535grams, in just two hours, at 9:17 pm. Isla was rushed to the neonatal unit and put on a ventilator as she was unable to breathe without assistance.
Lauren said: "Her skin was transparent, I could see every little vein within her body. I lived each day, never knowing if she would make it, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.
"After six weeks, she came off the ventilator but needed an oxygen mask over her face. We had our first cuddle, and her little hand was barely the size of the tip of my husband's pinky finger!''
At two-months-old, Isla's right retina detached and required surgery on the 15th of June 2022, but the operation was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the operation was unsuccessful, and the young tot lost her vision in that eye.
Lauren explained: "Out of everything that Isla battled to just be alive, losing an eye isn't the worse that could've happened. Isla's right eye is still functional and can move, but the detachment of the retina means that Isla has lost all vision.''
Isla, now eight-months, was finally discharged from hospital on 12th July and spent the night in her room for the first time. Lauren said: "It was rollercoaster, and I'm so over the moon that Isla is home and happy.
"I'm still in disbelief that our scan at 20 weeks came back fine, and I was rushed to hospital just two weeks later. It's so important to pay attention to those pains and trust your gut.
''She was so tiny when she was born, it felt like she'd never make it, but to see her now is like a miracle. Isla is a bundle of joy, and we couldn't be happier with the little girl we have now.
"We plan on taking Isla on a trip now that she's off assisted oxygen. We are so proud of her for fighting and now we get to enjoy every minute at the comfort of our own home."
