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Extremely Premature Baby Now Thriving at Home

A premature baby boy who weighed only 1 lb 2 oz when born, who was given a very low chance of survival, is now thriving at home and hitting his developmental milestones. 

Baby Sebastian was born in September, over four months before his due date, after his mother, Vivian, experienced complications during her pregnancy. 

Vivian’s waters broke when she was at only 18 weeks gestation due to a condition known as preterm premature rupture of membranes, or PPROM. While the condition does not mean the pregnant woman will definitely go into labour early, it does carry increased risks of infection for both mother and baby. 

While Vivian’s doctors speculated that she would likely give birth within five days, and that her baby would likely be stillborn, fortunately this did not prove to be the case.

Vivian remembers one of the doctors telling her, “Hey, I am gonna be completely honest with you. I see this baby coming within the next five days. This baby is going to come, and we’re gonna consider it a miscarriage”. Despite these concerns, her pregnancy continued for another four weeks, and baby Sebastian was born at 22 weeks and one day gestation, extremely prematurely but alive. 

Due to being born so prematurely, doctors had concerns about whether Sebastian’s lungs would function properly, a common issue with babies born so early. He had a very low heart rate and low levels of oxygen. 

Baby Sebastian remained in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for 113 days, during which time he faced infections and respiratory issues. 

Despite these struggles, after those 113 days, Sebastian was finally able to go home from the NICU and join his family. 

“Miracles do happen because I’m living proof”, Vivian said. “I hold my miracle every single day. Every single day”.

Now, almost a year later, Sebastian weighs 14 lbs and is thriving at home. He is hitting all of the age-adjusted milestones he has been given, and is expected to grow up to be fully healthy.

Suicide Bill Defeat Celebrations

Many figures in politics and the media have celebrated the defeat of the Assisted Sucide bill..

Writing in The Telegraph, non-affiliated Peer and former editor of The Spectator Lord (Charles) Moore said that the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill was “a victory for a society which cares for the vulnerable”. 

Moore, who participated in many of the debates on the assisted suicide Bill in the House of Lords, detailed how he was impressed by the many people who spoke up “for those who could not do so”. 

Despite claims from supporters of the assisted suicide Bill that the House of Lords acted inappropriately and the House of Commons came to the wrong decision, Moore rejected that characterisation, describing the process as “a counter example of Parliament working well”.

“This was the fourth unsuccessful attempt this century to allow people to get state help to kill themselves”, he added. “There cannot be another in this Parliament. Surely there should not be another in this generation”.

Baroness (Rosa) Monckton, a Conservative Peer and opponent of the assisted suicide Bill, agreed that both Houses of Parliament came together to defeat the legislation, saying, “We did our bit, and they did theirs”. 

Writing in The Telegraph, Monckton shared that many people were battling against the assisted suicide Bill on behalf of people with Down’s syndrome, including her 31-year-old daughter, Domenica.

Monckton argued that people with Down’s syndrome or other learning disabilities, like Domenica, “could be easily coerced into making a life-or-death decision”. 

She recalled that Damian Hinds MP, who is now the Shadow Health Secretary, tabled an amendment to the assisted suicide Bill designed to protect people with Down’s syndrome from the legislation; however, members of the Bill committee, including the Bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, voted down the amendment.

“Why? On what possible grounds? Such a lack of understanding and compassion is incomprehensible to me”, Monckton said.

She said that, when the Bill was rejected on Friday, she “felt overwhelming relief”, adding that she was “proud to play a small part in this”.

It was the viewpoint of The Telegraph itself, not just Monckton, that the House of Lords “did its job and prevented the Commons from rushing into enacting legislation that would have transformed the country”, arguing in its lead article that “the Lords have proved their worth”.