‘Miracle’ baby who weighed just 1lb 1oz at her birth
WHEN mum Christie Leigh Malik gave birth to a baby girl at 23 weeks, weighing just over 1lb, she feared the worst.
The 28-year-old from Pontypridd had already given birth to a stillborn daughter in 2013 and thought she was about to go through the same horrific experience again.
But baby Ayah, which means “miracle” in Arabic, beat the odds and defied doctors to go home without needing any oxygen or feeding tubes – proving she really is a miracle child.
Baby Ayah was born on March 1 weighing a tiny 1lb 1oz at Singleton Hospital in Swansea.
But for mum Christie, the days leading up to the birth were traumatic.
“I went for my 20-week scan and everything was perfect. Then I had a bleed at 22 weeks and I thought, ‘this is not quite right’,” she said.
“I phoned my midwife and she said, ‘go down to the labour ward and see what they say’. I went and they did tests, and then they did an internal one. They said I was four centimetres dilated and in labour.
“I was in shock and thinking if I was to give birth now, what would happen – it was way too early. I was given the statistics, and told if baby comes now there’s not a very good chance.
“My consultant said, ‘what would I like to do?’ I lost a baby, another little girl, who was stillborn, so I was like, ‘at the end of the day, this is my baby. I want my baby.’ You do whatever you’ve got to do, because this baby was so very wanted.
“I thought, ‘I can’t do this again. I’m not strong enough.’ You can’t imagine losing one, never mind losing another.
“I thought I was being punished. I thought, ‘is it me, is my body failing?’ I’m not a religious person, but I would pray.
“When you go through something, you grasp on to any bit of hope or faith just to get you through it. If she was fighting, I was going to fight with her. No doubt about that. She is my world.”
Then Christie faced another problem – there were no cots available for her if she gave birth.
Eventually, after waiting for three hours, a cot was found at Singleton Hospital in Swansea. But it was a long drive to get there.
“In the ambulance, a midwife came with me and said, ‘if you were to go into labour now, there’s nothing I can do to help the baby. I’ve just got to concentrate on you.’ It took forever to get there, but we did.
“It was just a waiting game, really. I was in Singleton for two days before my waters broke. At that, I was 23 weeks and one day pregnant. Every day counted so much then.”
Ayah was born on March 1 but her chances of surviving were slim.
“They said, ‘if baby comes out with signs of life, then we will do everything we can to help her. But if baby comes out with no signs of life, then we can’t do anything,’” Christie said.
“I’ve already lost a baby, and I didn’t want to go through that again. With the statistics they gave me, it wasn’t looking very good. But I had to have hope.”
Being born at 23 weeks meant Ayah was rushed off to a neonatal unit. Christie spent every day with her.
“I went to see her one or two hours after and she was so tiny. Her skin was transparent. I was thinking how something so tiny, with everything so perfect, is fighting for her life. Her skin was tacky, so when I touched her, my fingers were sticking to her skin.
“Every day, you just don’t know what’s going to happen. I would not leave her side. I was talking to her, singing to her, telling her about her big sister, and saying ‘I’m so proud of you, you’re so strong, mummy loves you so much.’
“It was an emotional time, but it was such a massive rollercoaster. One day you could have a really good day, the next minute things can switch.
“You don’t hear of 23-weekers being born and surviving. She was so small she could fit in the palm of my hand.”
After eight weeks, and without oxygen or feeding tubes, Ayah and mum Christie transferred from Singleton to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital near Llantrisant. After 21 weeks, Ayah was taken home to join her big sister, Aisha, 10.
Now Ayah is a bubbly, bouncy 30-week-old baby – and Christie can’t believe her luck. “She’s doing absolutely amazing. She’s such a good baby.
“Everybody who sees her or hears her story, they say she is a miracle.”