A British mom is hailing her Christmas miracle baby who was born after she was told he'd died in the womb.
Hannah Cole, 27, from Wibsey, West Yorkshire, England, was admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) in West Yorkshire after her waters broke at 20 weeks. The following day, after the doctors couldn’t detect a heartbeat, she was told that her unborn baby had died; she was booked in to be induced.
However, Cole said she could feel in her gut that her son was still alive and asked hospital staff for a second scan— and this time a heartbeat was found.
Baby Oakley Cole-Fowler was born prematurely at just 24 weeks and three days on Oct. 30, 2022, weighing just 1.7 pounds (780 grams).
The hospital has apologized for “the distress and anxiety caused” to the family.
“I’m just relieved. It’s been a rollercoaster. He is my Christmas miracle,'' Cole said.
She described Oakley as a “little fighter” who is set to be in hospital until at least his original due date of February 9.
Baby Oakley was in ICU after undergoing a “major operation” at just eight days old after being diagnosed with necrotizing enterocolitis, where tissues in the intestine become inflamed and die. He has also had a stoma bag fitted and faces further surgeries in spring.
Cole said: “Hopefully, we will be able to bring him home in a couple of months. He is self-ventilating and breathing without any assistance. He’s not on a ventilator anymore; he has been put on oxygen high flow and oxygen low flow before.
“He has been absolutely amazing from when he was born. He has come on leaps and bounds. He is perfectly fine now ... He has been absolutely brilliant.”
Cole said she feels a bit lost as her baby boy is not at home yet and it’s been quite “stressful and up and down” for the entire family.
“I can’t wait to get him home and we can be a normal family,” she said.
Cole complained to BRI about her treatment by medical staff there during her pregnancy with Oakley. Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust confirmed an investigation of the events around her scans in October has now concluded.
A spokesman said: “We have concluded our investigation which is now being shared with Ms. Cole. We would like to send our congratulations to her and her family on the birth of Oakley and wish the family well during his long neo-natal journey.”
