MEET STEPHANIE, THE MIRACLE BABY BORN PREMATURE, WEIGHING LESS THAN A KILO

A premature baby girl born 14 weeks early and weighing less than 1kg has been hailed as a “miracle” by her mother after defying the odds stacked against her.

First-time mum Priscilla Haley, of Tannum Sands, Gladstone, in Queensland said her daughter Stephanie fought for survival from the moment her waters broke just 19 weeks into her pregnancy.

Ms Haley, 39, was able to continue her pregnancy despite the premature rupture of her membranes, but doctors advised her to travel to Brisbane to be closer to a hospital with a neonatal unit.

She eventually went into labour at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital just 26 weeks into her pregnancy.

Her baby, Stephanie, was not breathing when she was born and required resuscitation.

At just five days old, doctors transferred the fragile baby to South Brisbane’s Mater Mother’s Hospital for specialist neonatal care and surgery to repair a perforated bowel.

Ms Haley is sharing Stephanie’s story for World Prematurity Day (November 17) to raise awareness about premature births and babies.

Stephanie is now 19 months old and has some ongoing challenges with coordination of movement, affecting both her arms and legs.

Ms Haley said doctors are still uncertain if her daughter can walk unassisted when she is older.

“Stephanie can sit unassisted and roll both ways, but she can’t go back to a seated position without my assistance,” she said.

"After 562 days, Stephanie finally came off oxygen support in September this year.

“Stephanie is still reliant on being tube fed as she does not have the oral skills to eat solids yet".  

Every year, more than 1,800 sick and premature babies like Stephanie receive round-the-clock specialist care in the Mater Mothers' Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU).

Ms Haley thanked Mater’s multidisciplinary team for giving Stephanie the chance to thrive in the first critical few weeks of her life.

“Every staff member at Mater played a big role in Stephanie’s journey,” she said. “Mater saved her life – the staff saved her life – they are just angels," she said.

“I knew when my waters broke at 19 weeks that the chances of Stephanie being born with abnormalities were significantly high, but I told myself I would do whatever Stephanie wanted to do – if she was going to fight, I would fight with her.

“For 50 days, Stephanie remained in the Mater Hospital and those were some very tough days.

Stephanie spent 20 days hospitalised in four different Queensland hospitals before Miss Haley was able to take her home and introduce her to their border collie dog Kiddo.

Mater Director of Neonatology Dr Pita Birch said nine out of 10 babies born at 26 weeks gestation would likely survive and go home.

He said that some of these babies may have developmental challenges. These may include issues with learning, cognition, and movement,, which may be signs of cerebral palsy.

Although these signs won’t usually appear in the first few months of life, many children are not diagnosed until 12 months or older.

The earlier the birth and lower the infant's birthweight, the greater the risk of having the disorder.

Dr Birch said delays in sitting, crawling, rolling over, and walking were signs a baby may have cerebral palsy.

Ms Haley remains positive about her daughter’s future and describes Stephanie as “determined, cheeky, and funny.”

“She is a fighter. We don’t know what is ahead of us but what I do know is that we will take it one step at a time – literally,” she said.