A mother who gave birth to her baby girl at 26 weeks weighing just 673 grams has opened up about how her daughter defied the odds of survival.
Maydel Quiming, from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, was rushed to Nambour Hospital after her water broke three months before her baby was due.
But after little Felicity was born prematurely via a c-section on February 10, she was placed in an incubator to prevent her fragile skin from tearing.
Little Felicity (pictured) was placed in an incubator for three after she was born prematurely
Maydel Quiming (pictured with her girl during their first cuddle after 15 days apart) has opened up about how her daughter defied the odds of survival
‘Her skin was paper thin. She was so tiny and only skin and bones. She wasn’t much bigger than my hand,’ Ms Quiming told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We were planning on natural birth but she went into distress so they had to do an emergency caesarean to me.
‘She was taken from me immediately after birth so I didn’t get to see or hold her. My partner was able to see her briefly before they incubated her to get her to survive.’
Before the birth of her daughter, Ms Quiming and her partner Juan Hopkins were told to prepare for the worst.
‘Doctors said the delivery will be very dangerous for her,’ the 37-year-old woman said.
‘Our baby was given a chance to survive – but we were also told it was going to be a long road – or she might not make it.
‘I was very scared. My partner Juan was there with me all the time and he told me to believe in our little girl.
‘I thought if I go to labor early, I’ll lose her for sure. We had two miscarriages before Felicity so I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her too.’
The mother-to-be was transferred to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where she stayed for two weeks before giving birth to her baby.
The baby was placed in an incubator shortly after birth to prevent her fragile skin from tearing
After she was born, Ms Quiming said she wasn’t allowed to see her newborn daughter until six hours later.
‘I saw her through the small window of her incubator,’ she recalled.
‘I was very excited to see her but I also felt so guilty on not being able to hold on to her in my tummy for longer. I ended up crying the whole time I was there.’
Felicity suffered multiple complications, including sepsis, stomach bloating and bedsores around her neck and armpits.
‘She had three blood transfusions and two sepsis which had to be treated with very strong antibiotics,’ her mother said.
‘Her tummy became so bloated that the veins became very visible and had looked like she was about to pop.
‘She had a lot of pressure sores in her neck and armpits because of her thin skin. Her ears were also paper thin. They rolled in like paper and we had to unroll it every four hours so it wouldn’t get stuck together.’
Happy family: The 37-year-old mother with her partner Juan Hopkins and their little girl
After 15 days, her mother was able to hold her daughter for the first time.
‘It was the most wonderful feeling in the world to finally hold my baby,’ she said.
Little Felicity spent the first three months of her life in hospital as her parents remained right by her hospital bedside.
‘There was a lot of tubes connected to her and she was cared by great nurses so I thought the hospital would be the safest place for her at that time,’ she recalled.
‘My partner and I would visit and stay with her almost eight hours everyday in hospital. We wanted to be there and let her know we were there for her.
‘But going home without her the first time was very hard. All I wanted was to cuddle her and give her kisses and let her know we love her.’
The emotional rollercoaster finally came to an end when little Felicity was allowed to go home
Her mother said her daughter was just ‘skin and bones’ after she was born prematurely
The emotional rollercoaster finally came to an end when little Felicity was allowed to go home with her parents for the first time after spending 98 days in hospital.
‘The first cry she made when we were home made me realise that she was finally home after a very long journey,’ she said.
‘She’s smiling a lot now, recognises us and gets all excited when we pick her up. She’s still on oxygen but we know it won’t be long now before she’s off it.
‘She’s doing very well. She can lift her own head, can rollover from tummy to back, feeds well – everything that a three month old baby should be doing.
‘We’d like to thank all the family and friends that helped us through this difficult time as well as the nurses and doctors who looked after her.
‘Juan has been with me throughout this whole journey. He was my rock and my strength and I couldn’t have done it without him beside me.
‘We are just so proud of Felicity for being such a fighter.’