Baby Leo has amazed doctors by being delivered in perfect health after mum Katy Evan’s waters broke at just 16 weeks.
Doctors gave the baby just one percent chance of survival, warning Katy that even if he lived he could have serious health issues. Doctors were so sure that Leo wouldn’t make it that they strongly advised Katy to terminate the pregnancy.
“I was sitting at my computer, printing out travel documents as we were due to go on holiday to France the next day,” Katy recalled.
“I’d had a bit of bleeding earlier in the pregnancy so when I suddenly felt a gush of liquid between my legs, I thought that I was bleeding again.”
“But then I realised that it wasn’t blood at all. I was so confused. My mum was there and I told her that I thought that my waters had broken. But neither of us could understand how that could happen so early in the pregnancy.”
Katy and her husband Rich rushed to Lister Hospital in Stevenage and were given the grave diagnosis. She had preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM), a rare condition which causes the amniotic fluid to drain out of the womb.
A scan revealed there was barely any fluid left to protect the growing baby. “We could barely make out our baby on the scan picture,” Katy said.
“It was a really scratchy image because it’s the amniotic fluid that allows you to see the foetus in the scan.”
As well as complications to the foetus, PPROM also leaves the mother with a very high risk of infection. In most cases of PPROM the mother will miscarry within 48 hours. When Katy didn’t show any signs of miscarrying, doctors offered her a termination.
“I told her that no, I didn’t want an abortion. I said that I wanted nature to take its course."
“This was a very much wanted pregnancy,’ Katy said. ‘I could feel my baby kicking. I already loved this little person.”
Two weeks later, Katy came back and showed the doctors something they’d never seen before. The rupture had healed, the fluid had replenished itself, and incredibly, the baby seemed to be developing normally.
‘It was the first time that I allowed myself to cry,’ Katy recalled.
Baby Leo was born prematurely at 34 weeks, but was allowed home after just five days.
‘It was the first time that I allowed myself to cry,’ Katy recalled.
Baby Leo was born prematurely at 34 weeks, but was allowed home after just five days.
“Holding Leo in my arms, at last, was extra special. Katy said. “Knowing that he was safe, despite all the odds, was overwhelming.”
“We’re all so blessed and grateful to have him. He's a very special little boy.”
