Pictured: Harry with mum Stephanie and dad Lee at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Burnley General Teaching Hospital
Every woman who becomes pregnant hopes to have a healthy baby born at full-term so when a baby arrives prematurely, it is a real shock for them and their family.
Today (Friday November 17) is World Prematurity Day which aims to raise awareness of premature birth and the devastating impact it can have on families.
Baby Harry Murdoch arrived early at 24 weeks and five days of pregnancy, weighing just 1lb 14oz - a mere 870g.
Despite his unexpectedly early appearance and fighting numerous health issues, Harry celebrated his first birthday yesterday on the eve of World Prematurity Day.
Mum Stephanie George, 27, who lives in Haslingden with partner Lee Murdoch, 30, an engineer, said: “We had never even heard of World Prematurity Day until last year when Harry was born on November 16 at 9.20pm.
“But over the last year, our life has revolved around prematurity and Harry is thriving now which is absolutely amazing considering everything he has gone through.”
Stephanie, a student nurse in her second year at Edge Hill University, says: “It never even crossed my mind that I would have my baby early.
“We were absolutely delighted when I became pregnant and I loved being pregnant and everything was going smoothly.
“Everything was fine and I was going about life as normal and we were making plans for when he was due which wasn’t until March 3.
“I followed every rule of what to do and what not to do in pregnancy and was healthy and the perfect age to have a baby.
“If someone had told me that morning that I would be giving birth later that day, I would have laughed at them as there was absolutely no indication whatsoever.
“I had absolutely no idea how life would suddenly change.”
On the day Harry was born last year, Stephanie had a bleed and became worried and went to East Lancashire Hospitals’ Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre based at Burnley General Teaching Hospital.
Stephanie went back home to rest and began having pains which she didn’t realise at first were contractions. As the pains became worse, she realised something was wrong and returned to the hospital.
Stephanie said: “By the time I was checked by an obstetrician, I was nine centimetres dilated and it was too late to stop the labour.
“Harry was born an hour after that.”
Stephanie’s waters never broke and Harry was actually born “en caul” which means he was still encased in the amniotic sac at birth, which is really rare.
Stephanie said: “They say it is good luck - and it must have been for Harry.
“When Harry was first born, I feared the worst and was convinced Harry would not make it home.
“I was almost reluctant to go and see Harry as I knew I would fall in love with him and was scared that would make losing him even harder.
“It was really emotional when we saw Harry for the first time. He was just so tiny and had all these tubes and wires coming out of him and was wearing a mask.
“Harry was twitching like an unborn baby does when you feel it kick inside you.
“When I saw Harry, I felt guilty and wondered why he was in an incubator rather than inside me and asked myself what I had done wrong.
“I loved Harry from the moment I saw him but felt petrified as he was so tiny and vulnerable and I was terrified we would lose him.
“The last thing you imagine about having your baby is seeing this tiny helpless creature and all your plans and expectations for the future just disappear.
“Your only thought is getting to the end of the day with your baby still alive.”
Harry was on a ventilator and experienced all sorts of problems such as bleeds on the brain, meningitis, sepsis, kidney problems and he had to have 10 blood transfusions and a platelet transfusion.
Stephanie recalled: “Every day seemed like another blow.
“Harry was on phototherapy for jaundice on and off for weeks. I was expressing milk for him but he had severe reflux so would bring up his feed when they tried to tube-feed him. He would then not be able to breath so would have to be suctioned.
“Harry also had retinopathy of prematurity where abnormal blood vessels grown in the retina. This can cause blindness but luckily, Harry’s never got this bad.
“At the beginning, every day seemed like another bad day.
“But slowly as our journey in NICU progressed, the good days started outweighing the bad.
“It was a slow process. Harry came off the ventilator after three weeks but then he was on all sorts of other breathing support.”
Harry ended up being nursed in NICU for 112 days until five days after his due date before he was well enough to go home.
He went home on oxygen but is now breathing for himself with no tubes.
Stephanie said: “Over the 16 weeks Harry was in NICU, as he got stronger, we could cuddle him and bond with him.
“Our time in NICU was a rollercoaster but the staff were absolutely amazing.
“It is not just a job to them - they are so dedicated and work really hard to get babies well enough to go home.
“The support they gave us was invaluable and we could not have done it without them.
“It is hard to put into words how grateful we are to the NICU staff for everything they did for us and Harry.
“NICU is an amazing place and it is where we learnt to be parents.
“In a strange way, we almost felt like we didn’t want to leave as you don’t want to lose that support.
“We made some really good friends with other parents and nursing staff in NICU.
“It felt like they were the only people who truly understood what it is like to have a premature baby.
“In a way, you can feel isolated from your friends as their experience of having babies is completely different from yours.”
Harry has now turned one just in time for World Prematurity Day and is thriving.
Stephanie said: “Harry now weighs 19lbs so is 10 times his birth weight.
“He is amazing and is defying all the odds.
“Harry is a really happy boy and is always smiling, laughing and playing.
“To look at him, people would never know the start he had in life.”
Stephanie’s advice to parents of newly premature babies is: “Hang in there: things will get better.
“Take each day at a time and be kind to yourself.
“For every bad day and tear shed this year, we have shared a million moments of happiness and tears of joy.
“Every cuddle has been that bit tighter, every milestone achieved celebrated that bit harder and everyday together appreciated that bit more.
“We are so proud of our miracle.
“Harry is the strongest person we know and we are so much stronger because of him.”
Dr Naharmal Soni, consultant neonatologist at NICU based on the site of Burnley Teaching Hospital at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Babies who are born at 24 weeks of gestation usually have a 50/50 chance of survival.
“The first week is crucial and after that, different babies can have different complications.
“Harry was lucky that the complications he had were to a milder degree than can happen.
“His parents were committed and supportive and had a very positive attitude throughout the good days and bad days.
“Harry is now off oxygen and developing well and is a very happy and alert little boy who is putting on weight nicely.
“It is lovely to see a happy ending like Harry’s when a baby is born so premature.
“As a unit, NICU actively promotes World Prematurity Day and we are having a coffee morning today so parents of premature babies and their children can meet each other and share their stories as well as updating the hospital staff on how they are all doing.”
WORLD PREMATURITY DAY
- World Prematurity Day on November 17 is a global movement to raise awareness of premature birth and the devastating impact it can have on families
- One of the aims is to make people aware of the hurdles babies and parents face and overcome every single day
- More than one in 10 babies worldwide are born premature
- For more details about Bliss the charity for babies born premature or sick, visit: www.bliss.org.uk or call the helpline on: 0808 801 0322