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Baby's miraculous survival after mum's water broke at 16 weeks

Waking up in the middle of the night to a wet patch on her bed, Natasha Sherwin never imagined her waters had broken at 16 weeks pregnant.

The retail assistant and her husband Sam, 26, merely laughed it off together as they assumed she had embarrassingly “wet herself” in her sleep.

But the joke soon turned into a real-life nightmare when Natasha went to the toilet moments later and discovered blood.

The 27 year old from Elgin, Scotland was told by medics to prepare for labour after arriving at the hospital.

But after 48 agonising hours, there was no sign of a baby and she was told it would be best to terminate the child as there was just a two per cent chance of survival.

Pictured is Natasha Sherwin holding her baby bump. Source: Caters
Natasha Sherwin was stunned when her waters suddenly broke when she was just 16 weeks pregnant with her daughter Faith. Source: Caters

But Natasha was determined to give her little girl a fighting chance and incredibly, her mother's instinct proved right.

Against all the odds, her baby managed to stay inside, with tiny amounts of fluid to protect her, until 30 weeks.

“I was shocked to hear my waters were broke, I thought perhaps I had an accident until I started bleeding,” Natasha said.

“Every time I moved in the hospital, water would trickle down my leg and doctors thought I was going to give birth.

“I was praying for the best but expecting the worst, two days later, I was asked if I would like to terminate but my answer was always no.

“I decided I would let mother nature take its course – I wasn’t going to kill my baby.”

Miracle birth after premature rupture

The pregnancy complication known as preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM) meant Natasha and her baby were at a high risk of developing an infection.

The mum of two had to stay in hospital for two weeks following her waters breaking to see if the fluid levels would increase.

“I was warned my baby probably won’t survive and asked if I would like to terminate weekly until I was 22 weeks pregnant,” she said.

"I just couldn't do that to my baby – I could feel her moving inside me and I just knew I had to let her fight.

Doctors admitted her into the hospital at 23 weeks to ensure Natasha and her child were under close supervision.

At 30 weeks she welcomed her daughter Faith into the world on January 12, 2018.

The infant weighed 2lb 13oz (1.2kgs) and was immediately taken into NICU.

Pictured is Faith, who was born on January 12, 2018. Source: Caters
At 30 weeks she welcomed her daughter Faith into the world on January 12, 2018. Source: Caters

Post-natal complications

Unbeknownst to Natasha, she had contracted E.coli which led to a sepsis infection the day after giving birth.

“I was on death’s door; I was struggling to catch my breath and unable to speak,” she said.

“Sam was told to prepare for the worst as a CT scan discovered my right lung was full of fluid and the left was also filling up and I had pneumonia.

“I had my first cuddle with Faith after a week, I felt horrendous and still unable to move but I needed to see my baby.”

Natasha spent two weeks fighting for her life and believes without the blood transfusion she “wouldn’t be here to see her children grow up”.

She compares her experience to “something you would see on TV” and is in disbelief that it happened to her - even more than one year later.

Baby on life support after five weeks

“The first six weeks of Faith’s life were spent in hospital and after five weeks at home she was emergency flown down to Edinburgh because she stopped breathing and they had to put her on the life support machine.

“She was fighting for her life due to catching bronchitis and having chronic lung disease her body couldn't fight it off without her having a machine to breathe for her.

“She developed a blood clot in her leg and stomach that caused her leg to go grey and her toes were black.”

Natasha and Sam were faced with the “hardest decision of their lifetime” as medics said they can either amputate her leg or give Faith medication to reduce the clots but with a high risk of bleeding on the brain.

“Thank god the medication worked but her health continued to decline as her left lung collapsed due to a build-up of mucus,” she said.

Despite their traumatic ordeal, the 27 year old said she couldn’t be happier that she kept fighting for Faith, who is now 22 months old and thriving.

- Caters

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