Miracle premature baby turns one
A MIRACLE baby who was born 16 weeks premature has celebrated her first birthday by visiting hospital staff in Stornoway.
Proud parents Zerqua and Mansha Mohammed Shahid took Hafsa to the Western Isles Hospital, Stornoway, and the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital in Glasgow to pay tribute to the NHS staff who looked after them after Hafsa was born on Father’s Day 2016 when Zerqua was only 24 weeks’ pregnant.
Hafsa, who weighed just 580g and was so small she could fit into her mother’s hand, spent 19 weeks in hospital after being born in the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital.
From the outset, Hafsa did exceptionally well, battling with all the usual aspects of extreme prematurity, particularly with the maturation of her lungs. She was extubated and intubated on numerous occasions depending on her oxygen levels.
It took 134 days of specialist care in Glasgow before Hafsa – which aptly means humble baby lioness – was strong enough to return home to Stornoway.
Mum Zerqua said: ‘This is a very special birthday for us and we plan on celebrating it with family and friends.
‘Hasfa is developing well and her weight is now up to 13lbs which I put down to her reaping the benefits of being breastfed from birth.
‘ We are so grateful for the help we have received from NHS staff in Stornoway and in Glasgow. We can’t thank them enough. To show our support we decided to fundraise, with all the money raised going to the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital’s neonatal unit.’
Head of midwifery Catherine Macdonald said: ‘Hafsa is such a happy, pretty little girl. It’s wonderful to see her enjoying her first birthday when we recall how fragile and small she was when she was born. That’s all behind her now.’