Mother’s instinct saved my baby in a heartbeat
LITTLE Jessica Madden is a bundle of energy – but the odds were stacked against her before she was even born when doctors gave her only a 1 per cent chance of survival.
Her mother, angela Park, was told several times to abort her unborn baby after her waters broke only 17 weeks into pregnancy.
She was expected to go into labour within 48 hours but when she did not, it left both her and Jessica at risk of potentially deadly infection.
Miss Park and partner Patrick Madden were told that even if she made it to 30-plus weeks, the baby would die at birth.
But after seeing Jessica’s tiny heartbeat during a scan to confirm that there was no amniotic fluid surrounding the baby, Miss Park decided that ‘where there is life, there is hope’.
and today as she watches her ‘little daredevil’ running around, smiling and giggling just days after her second birthday, Miss Park, of Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, knows that she was right not to give up on her child.
‘Luck was definitely on our side,’ said the 30-year-old office worker.
‘I know that some mothers do get infection and some babies don’t survive. It was a huge risk carrying on with the pregnancy because of the risk of infection to her and to me.
‘But I just felt I couldn’t terminate as long as she had a heart- beat. I didn’t want to get rid of her – she was living and I wanted to give her a chance.
‘I was told that even if I did carry her to 34 weeks she would only have a 1 per cent chance of surviving. She would have hypoplastic lungs and would most likely not be able to breathe –
‘She really is a wee miracle’
but she came out crying. She really is a wee miracle.’
against all odds, Jessica was born at 34 weeks at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, Glasgow, on September 4, 2013, weighing 4lb 8oz.
She was in hospital for only two weeks before being allowed home with her proud parents and big sister, Caitlin, seven.
Miss Park said: ‘When we got to take her home after 14 days it was like her being born all over again. I always felt she would be all right because we made it so far. I could feel her kicking and hiccupping, which was good.
‘at first I was just devastated and even though I knew I was keeping her, I didn’t think I would have a baby at the end.’
as she watches Jessica running around the park and playing on the slide, she can hardly believe how lucky she is.
Miss Park said: ‘ She’s a little daredevil and an absolute bundle of joy.
‘there was a point when I never thought we’d get this far. It just shows that where there is life there is hope.’
Preterm pre-labour rupture of membranes (PPROM) happens when the waters break before 37 weeks. this occurs in about 2 per cent of pregnancies.
Miss Park is supporting the Little Heartbeats: Making PPROM awareness campaign, which supported her and helps to fund research into a stem cell treatment that would repair the membranes after they have ruptured.
See little-heartbeats.org.uk for further information.