Babay Survives Despite Attempts to Terminate Pregnancy

Filed in archive Medical Issues , Unplanned Pregnancies on November 9, 2007

Whenever I think about the thousand of things that may go wrong during pregnancy and birth, it makes me appreciate what a miracle the birth of a baby is. But imagine if medical procedures are done to intentionally cut the life of a fetus (to save his twin's) and the baby thrives and is subsequently born... what do you call that?

at 25 weeks, on 13 February, staff at Birmingham Women's Hospital took the decision to sever Gabriel's umbilical cord to cut off his blood supply.

However, that was unsuccessful so later the twins' placenta was cut in half.

"No-one expected him to live through but it had the total opposite effect and he started to grow."

The twins were born by emergency caesarean at 31 weeks and now need no treatment at all.

Read the full story and the twin's photo at BBC News.