Young mum was told to
abort her baby but
battled on and kept a
diary
Rachel Collins was told baby only had 10% chance of survival and she should abort. She kept a diary of her pregnancy and now little Alfie is happy and healthy she can't wait for him to read it
Every day mum-to-be Rachel Collins would make sure she took time to sit down and pour her feelings into her diary.
Started when she first discovered she was pregnant, it was to be a journal of her entire nine months preparing for the arrival of the baby she was so desperate for.
The 30-year-old and her partner, warehouse worker Tyler O’Driscoll, had been trying for a child for years. Months earlier they had suffered the agony of an ectopic pregnancy – when the embryo implants outside the womb.
So, to show her future child how much he or she was wanted, Rachel began writing the diary in April, documenting the highs and lows of being an expectant mum.
But when, at 20 weeks, she was given the devastating news she was almost certain to lose her baby, her diary of hope became one of despair.
Doctors said she was suffering from Oligohydramnios – a condition which causes a lack of amniotic fluid – and the baby had just a 10% chance of survival. She was warned that if she did not terminate, there was a high risk of miscarriage and the baby would almost certainly die.
But the defiant first-time mum refused to listen – and continued not only with her pregnancy but her day-by-day account of her nine-month struggle to bring her child into the world.
But incredibly Rachel, from Tamworth, Staffs, defied the odds and gave birth to a healthy boy named Alfie last October. She is now looking forward to the day when her brave son can read all about the drama that led to his arrival into the world.
Rachel, a customer services assistant, says: “I decided to keep a diary from the minute I found out I was pregnant, to show our baby how much we wanted him.
“But when I was told he wasn’t going to survive, I didn’t feel I could stop – I thought if I lost him it would help me grieve.
“The doctor didn’t mince his words, he said ‘this baby will die, the best thing you can do is terminate it.’ We already had a name for our baby, I was devastated.
“The journal is what kept me going, it’s where I poured everything I was feeling, the good and the bad.”
Titled ‘Alfie: born to fight, ready for battle – our miracle baby boy’, it follows the journey from pregnancy test to learning he could die.
Recalling the moment doctors advised an abortion, Rachel says: “I could feel my baby was alive, he was moving, how could I get rid of him? There was no way I was terminating my baby, I thought if he’s not meant to be , I will miscarry – but I knew I had to try.”
Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital agreed to take Rachel on as a patient even though she was ignoring their medical advice.
She said: “They told me that he might have a squashed face or a club foot, but they said they would give him a chance. It was hard – I was at hospital more often than I was at home, but I just had to keep going.”
And Alfie was born prematurely at 30 weeks by emergency caesarean on October 21, weighing just 3lbs 7oz.
“They wanted me to have a general anaesthetic, but I insisted on a spinal block,” says Rachel. “I couldn’t bear the thought of coming round and not knowing what had happened to Alfie.
“He came out screaming – he defied them all. He is a little miracle. It was a nightmare pregnancy, but every day he was hanging on was a blessing. He is now 6lb 14oz and has no health problems.
“When Alfie is older I shall give the journal to him, it will be a testament to how much we wanted him and how hard we fought to bring him into the world.”
Here Rachel shares some of the heartbreaking yet uplifting extracts...
April 18, 2013
“I decided to do the test and couldn’t believe my eyes: POSITIVE!!!! I text your daddy – we were the happiest people alive, knowing that we had such an amazing gift on the way and that everyone was so happy for us.”
May 15, 2013
“First midwife appointment and it’s turned out to be the most boring appointment of my life – going all through my medical history. Can’t wait until my 12-week scan, I just want to see you.”
June 6, 2013
“I’m terrified, I’m sat in Good Hope A&E and I’m losing you – Daddy is pacing the waiting room, he won’t sit still.
“Finally we are told it’s OK, its normal to have bleeds in early pregnancy... apparently.”
June 21, 2013
“Your 12-week scan – Daddy and I think it’s so funny to compare your lovely baby bump to the other waiting women. I don’t know what I’ve been feeding you but you look massive – I don’t care, you’re perfect – I love my bump.
“I see you for the first time and you’re perfect – spinning and putting on a real show, we were so proud and Daddy had a tear in his eye.”
August 6, 2013
“All I can do now is cry, we are moved to a side room, my blood pressure is taken and again we are joined by the same cold-faced midwife – she is looking at me in sympathy.
“Eventually, after waiting for over an hour we are joined by the consultant ‘Mr Honest’ – he came in the room and said ‘your body has low fluid, this is called Oligohydramnios’.
“I’m just thinking, what does this mean when it hits me, listening to this man’s words all I can do is stare at his mouth. He said ‘Your baby has a 10% chance of survival, you should expect a miscarriage – the baby will survive the next two weeks at best, you should have a termination’.
“I could have found a corner and curled up and cried until I had no more tears left and not a breath in my body.
“I left the hospital and vowed never to return there ever again – I wanted a second opinion – something in my heart was telling me we could do this.
“I wasn’t going to give up hope – a 10% chance was not zero.”
August 12, 2013
“Our new consultant is amazing and every fine detail of you is checked down to the fine vessels in your brain – she never mentioned termination and supported our choice to fight for you.
“I’m going to have steroid injections to bring your lung development on – it’s minor really, I would do anything for you. You won’t stand a chance if you’re born before 24 weeks – I’m taking every day as a milestone.”
August 21, 2013
“I’d been on bed rest for two weeks and Daddy decided to take me to the local working men’s club so we could watch the football. I got up and knew something was wrong, I was bleeding heavily, I couldn’t stop it and I was panicking.
“I though I shouldn’t have gone – if I’ve lost our baby it’s my fault. The ambulance lady was trying to find your heartbeat as we sped to the hospital... and finally she found it.
“She moved the scanner over my belly and I heard a sound, then it was stronger, it was you – lovely beautiful heartbeat 142bpm.”
October 20, 2013
“The doctors have been called, we are still bleeding but your heartbeat is stable and steady – there is a chance you are on the way very soon.
“In the back of my mind I can hear Mr Honest’s voice, what if he is right and you are going to die – I will lose the most precious boy in the world.
“I nearly hit the roof as pain rips through me like a knife and I hear the word I dreaded – abruption. I can’t keep you safe any more and I need you out and soon.”
October 21, 2013
“I can feel nothing from the neck down, In being pulled and tugged, it feels like ages but it’s only minutes and you are born, my beautiful boy at 3.48am – and you are breathing – I cry tears of joy, I have never been this happy in my life.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/young-mum-told-abort-baby-3156128#ixzz2uB0IuMxJ
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