A baby beats the odds after diagnosis of a ‘serious defect’ at 12 weeks

An Emirati baby who was given a 10 to 15 per cent survival rate twelve weeks into the pregnancy has gone home.

Diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), which causes the growth of the lungs to be restricted by other organs, baby Saif was labelled as having a “serious defect”.

His parents consulted specialists, and their child underwent numerous surgeries; in the womb, at delivery, and another six days after.

’Truly a blessing’

135 days later, staff at the Neonatal Care Unit at Burjeel Medical City cleared him to go home for the first time.

His mother, Latifa, said: “I was never going to give up on him”. She stressed that “it was a difficult journey. It does still feel like a dream”.

She shared: “Seeing the entire medical team doing surgery for Saif in the NICU was overwhelming. Saif’s organs were so small that they needed a magnifying glass.”

Latifa continued: “This was truly a blessing. I can’t believe that after all this struggle, we will now go home”.

Choose life

Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said: “Congratulations to baby Saif for making it home after enduring so many medical procedures and operations at such a young age. We hope he will continue to recover and live a full and happy life”.

In Great Britain, abortion is currently permitted for most reasons up to 24 weeks, but up to birth if the unborn child is deemed to have a disability.

Watch The Christian Institute’s Choose Life series – people’s personal stories of how they were deeply affected by pregnancy, abortion and choosing life.