Baby who weighed less than a bag of sugar celebrates 35th birthday

A woman who was born before the abortion limit at the time has celebrated her 35th birthday by visiting the hospital which cared for her as a premature baby.

Robyn Harris was born at 25 weeks in Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, weighing 1lb 10oz – less than a bag of sugar. She was discharged from the Special Care Baby Unit after 107 days, around her mother’s original due date.

At the time, her birth couldn’t be registered until she had reached the then abortion limit of 28 weeks’ gestation. Just two years later, the Government reduced the limit to 24 weeks over arguments about viability, but survival stories of babies born before the current limit are increasingly common.

‘Amazing’

In an interview with BBC Radio Oxford, Robyn said she was “incredibly grateful” for the doctors and nurses who cared for her and inspired her to become a qualified occupational therapist.

She said: “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them”.

During the interview, Robyn was reunited with Dr Ives, who said it was “absolutely amazing” to see her 35 years on.

Although Robyn suffers from cerebral palsy and conditions resulting from her premature birth, she said she lives a “fulfilled life with a good level of independence and support as needed from dear friends and family”.

22 weeks

Earlier this year, a baby who was expected to die shortly after her premature birth astounded doctors by reaching her first birthday with no serious side-effects.

Naomi Southern-Augustine gave birth to daughter Wren just 22 weeks into her pregnancy after doctors discovered she was lacking amniotic fluid.

The tiny girl, who weighed just 14oz, was the smallest baby the team had ever treated. She initially “sailed through” her first fortnight in hospital, before overcoming a serious illness caused by a rapidly-spreading infection.

She celebrated her first birthday in April and hit all her milestones for her corrected age, which was eight months at the time.