Proud mum Eliza Dutuc cradles her 'miracle baby' thanks to the incredible work of the doctors and nurses who fought to save him during a marathon 11-hour operation.

Eliza, from Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey was expecting a baby brother for her two daughters when things began to go horribly wrong.

Twenty weeks into her pregnancy staff at Medway Maritime Hospital discovered the baby's placenta was growing into her bladder in a rare and dangerous condition brought on by scars from previous caesarean operations.

Medics gave her two stark choices - either abort the pregnancy or go ahead and risk further complications. It was a decision no mother wants to face.

But Romanian-born Eliza, 31, said: "I didn't even think for a second about taking the life of the child we wanted from the bottom of our hearts."

She and her husband Alexandru, 36, who moved to the Island four years ago, faced a terrible time as the baby continued to grow.

But both say they could not have carried on without the expert guidance of the hospital's Professor Ranjit Akolekar.

The clinical lead for fetal medicine also works at the Harris Birthright Research Centre at King’s College Hospital, London.

Eliza said: "The professor is a special person, professional, calm and always with plans to make everything perfect in the end. He explained the risks and together we decided to go ahead to fight to get a healthy baby."

They hoped the pregnancy would continue for at least 30 weeks - a normal term is 40 - but complications set in.

Eliza said: "Everything went well until week 26 when I went for a scan. I was in pain and it was difficult.

"Professor Akolekar examined me and found the placenta was piercing my bladder. There was a very high risk of bleeding so he insisted on keeping me in hospital.

"It was a special situation. He needed a whole team of seven doctors in the delivery room including anaesthetists, gynaecologists and urologists. He foresaw what might happen and everything was prepared in detail."

On the morning of Wednesday, May 27, Eliza was wheeled into the operating theatre at 7am to have stents inserted in her legs to prevent bleeding. At 9am she was ready for her caesarian operation.

She said: "This surgery usually takes about 20 minutes but in my case it lasted until 6pm. But under the close supervision of Professor Akolekar everything went well. They removed the placenta, uterus and part of my bladder but the baby and I were both alive and healthy."

She added: "You are so lucky to have people like Professor Akolekar working in the NHS. To me, he is like a God.

"If any other mothers have trouble like I had, then they need to know someone is there to help them and they will be in safe hands."

Her son Alexandru-Loachim was born so premature he only weighted 2.6lb, just over the weight of a bag of sugar. Within seconds he was put in an incubator.

Eliza said: "He had so many diagnosis. He had trouble breathing on his own, he had a hole in his heart and a bleed on his brain and also suffered from jaundice. It was a really difficult and horrible time."

During the birth she needed a transfusion after losing 7.5 litres of blood and at times the anaesthetic had little effect on her.

But she says: "We call my son the present Santa gave us. I must have an angel for sure looking over me. Our son is a little champion."

After 70 days in hospital, he is now home with his mum, dad and older sisters Anna-Karla, five, and Anna-Karina, 16 months.

James Devine, Chief Executive at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are delighted to hear that both Eliza and her baby Alexandru-Loachim are back home with their loved ones and recovering well after undergoing such a complicated procedure.

"Our colleagues in the Fetal Medicine Unit, led by Professor Akolekar, are dedicated to providing brilliant care to mothers and their babies, which was truly demonstrated in this case.’’

One of the world's most premature babies to have survived is James Elgin Gill who was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on May 20, 1987, at 21 weeks.

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