A mother who refused an abortion after her waters broke at 16 weeks has said she is so “grateful” that her son survived and is now eight months old.
Katy Evans, 35, was taken to hospital at 16 weeks because she had a rare condition causing the amniotic fluid to drain from her womb. Doctors warned that her son Leo had just a one per cent chance of survival.
They said if Leo did survive birth he may have no limbs or be unable to breathe, and that Mrs Evans had a high risk of developing a womb infection.
Survival
But Mr and Mrs Evans wanted to give their child a chance of survival, and said no to an abortion.
“This was a very much wanted pregnancy”, Mrs Evans said.
“I could feel my baby kicking. I already loved this little person”, she added.
Viable
She discovered that it was standard practice for doctors to offer an abortion to mothers with her condition, but she refused to give up hope.
The hospital discharged Mrs Evans, and two weeks later a scan revealed that her waters had replenished in her womb – something the doctors had never seen before.
Mrs Evans said her aim was to reach 24 weeks, “because, from then on, the NHS consider it a viable pregnancy – a baby rather than a foetus”.
Amazing
“It’s amazing how you will fight for this baby inside you. I wanted my child to make it”, she added.
At 34 weeks into the pregnancy, Mrs Evans gave birth to Leo, who weighed 4 pounds and 13 ounces – he was allowed home after five days.
“Holding Leo in my arms, at last, was extra special”, she said.
Blessed
Leo is now eight months old, and weighs 17 pounds.
“We’re all so blessed and grateful to have him. He’s a very special little boy”, Mrs Evans said.
The Christian Institute has started a new series of stories focusing on abortion called ‘Choose Life’.
Deeply personal
Over the next few weeks, people will be sharing moving and deeply personal stories of how abortion affected them.
The first story in the series involved Bonnie and Phil Walker, whose daughter Grace died 15 minutes after being born.
They said they had “definite peace” that it was the right thing to see the pregnancy through after being offered an abortion.