A 'miracle' baby who was born three months early is now thriving after an emergency nearly killed both him and his mother.

Baby Enzo was born by emergency c-section after his mum suffered a life-threatening bleed in hospital in Ashford.

The tiny tot had to be brought into the world at the William Harvey Hospital after mum Yvonne Welch lost "pretty much all the blood" in her body.

Mrs Welch had been in hospital for monitoring after feeling unwell, and had been asked to stay in by the team at the Harvey.

She said that if her doctors had not made that decision, neither she or Enzo would have survived the traumatic ordeal.

“If I hadn’t been in hospital for monitoring when I started bleeding, we both would have died," she explained.

“In three-and-a-half minutes I lost pretty much all the blood in my body. It was like someone had turned on a tap.

“I remember when they said they were going to keep me in, I really didn’t want to stay and I thought it was unnecessary – but if they hadn’t we wouldn’t be here today. That decision, and their quick actions, saved our lives.”

Enzo was delivered within minutes but Yvonne was in theatre for several hours as medics struggled to stop the bleeding, and eventually had a hysterectomy to remove her womb.

She had to spend time in the critical care unit and was in hospital for two weeks.

“I couldn’t see Enzo for the first few days and when I finally did I was so scared. I didn’t know if he was going to survive," she said.

“He was absolutely tiny and looked a bit like a little alien, he looked so fragile. But the whole team in NICU were unbelievably reassuring, and they made us feel so safe; we knew he was in good hands.”

Enzo had to spend 99 days in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), during which time Yvonne's father became seriously ill, forcing her to travel to Scotland to see him, leaving Enzo in hospital. Tragically, her father passed away.

She said that the support from the staff got her through "one of the hardest times of my life".

"I had no concerns at all about leaving Enzo with the staff; they were like angels," she added.

“They were so compassionate and empathetic, you could tell they loved their work and they loved helping and comforting us.”

The family were finally able to bring Enzo home to his four siblings in Ruckinge just before Christmas, where they were supported by the hospital's neonatal outreach team; specialist nurses who visit families at home in the weeks after discharge.

Yvonne said: “When he was in NICU he was on a monitor and the staff were always there, then suddenly we were on our own.

“Even though I’ve had four other kids, being home without that level of support was scary. I don’t think I slept that first night, I just kept checking on him.

“The outreach team came out that first week and they were a huge comfort. They knew the world of prematurity, they understood how I was feeling. They made me feel at ease, because they were from that department and were experts in premature miracles like Enzo.

“It made a massive difference and it would have been very scary without them.

“We feel so grateful to have him here with us and we will definitely tell the grandchildren about the fantastic teams who saved his life and cared for him.

"We wouldn't be here without them..."

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them - we wouldn’t be here without them.”

Vicky Cookson, lead sister for the outreach team, said supporting families like Yvonne’s was hugely rewarding.

She said: “The team absolutely love what we do and it’s wonderful to see parents grow in confidence as they settle in at home.

“It can be very daunting when they leave hospital and we are here to support them and help allay their concerns.

“Enzo was with us for such a long time that it’s understandable Yvonne and Paul were anxious at first but they soon developed a routine and Enzo is thriving.”