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Meabh McArdle was just 23 weeks old when she was born at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital on October 9, 2015.
Her mum, Fionnuala, says doctors gave her 0 to 1 per cent chance of survival because she was born 17 weeks early.
“I was brought into the hospital when I was 22 weeks,” she tells The Healthy Mummy.
“I was dilated 2cm and doctors told me there was nothing they could do. If I didn’t hold my baby girl in until 24 weeks, she wouldn’t survive.”
22 weeks and five days into the pregnancy, Fionnuala was fearful she had started going into labour.
“I begged for steroids,” Fionnuala says. “But the medical team were reluctant to give me then as they said my daughter had 0 to 1 per cent chance of survival. But I begged and the consultant gave the go ahead for me to have them.”
Thankfully, it was a false alarm, but just two days later, Meabh came into the world at 23 weeks. She weighed just one pound.
Meabh overcame the odds and is now 18 months old. She’s a completely healthy toddler.
Fionnuala started a GoFund me page to raise money for the neonatal unit in Belfast RVH. To date, she has raised $18,000 but is hoping to raise more funds to buy breast pumps so mums can feed their premature babies.
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