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A pregnant mother whose waters broke at 16 weeks refused to abort her unborn child, despite doctors warning he had just a one per cent chance of survival.
Katy Evans was devastated when she was warned her baby was unlikely to live, with experts advising she have a termination due to the high risk of serious infection.
But the 35-year-old was adamant, she refused to give up, determined to let nature take its course.
Incredibly, two weeks later, scans revealed her waters had replenished themselves in her womb - something doctors treating her had never seen before.
Five months later Mrs Evans and her husband Rich, welcomed their 'miracle son' Leo, a brother to their three-year-old daughter Amber.
Katy Evans's waters broke when she was just 16 weeks pregnant, leaving doctors to warn her unborn baby had a one per cent chance of surviving
Baby Leo was born at 34 weeks, after Mrs Evans's waters replenished in her womb - something doctors told her they had never seen before
Mrs Evans was at home in Hitchin, Hertfordshire when her waters suddenly broke in August 2013.
‘I was sitting at my computer, printing out travel documents as we were due to go on holiday to France the next day,’ she told MailOnline.
‘I’d had a bit of bleeding earlier in the pregnancy so when I suddenly felt a gush of liquid between my legs, I thought that I was bleeding again.
‘But then I realised that it wasn’t blood at all. I was so confused. My mum was there and I told her that I thought that my waters had broken. But neither of us could understand how that could happen so early in the pregnancy.’
Although her pregnancy with Amber had been straightforward, Mrs Evans, who works as regional development manager for a charity, had previously suffered a miscarriage and was worried history was repeating itself.
Her mother took her to A&E at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage – but not before Mrs Evans quickly looked up her symptoms online.
‘I wanted to be armed with information before going to hospital,’ she said. ‘Reading medical websites, about waters breaking so early in the pregnancy, I realised that this was very bad news indeed.’
Mr Evans, who works for Deloitte, rushed to be at his wife’s side in hospital, where the couple were given the devastating diagnosis.
Mrs Evans had preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM), a rare condition causing the amniotic fluid to drain from her womb.
A scan revealed that there was barely any amniotic fluid left to protect their unborn child in the womb.
‘We could barely make out our baby on the scan picture,’ Mrs Evans told MailOnline.
‘It was a really scratchy image because it’s the amniotic fluid that allows you to see the foetus in the scan.’
Doctors advised Mrs Evans and her husband Rich contemplate a termination, because the risk of infection was so high, and the chances of their baby surviving was so low
Mrs Evans told MailOnline: 'I didn't want an abortion... I wanted nature to take its course'
Doctors warned the couple that their unborn child had less than one per cent chance of survival.
And even if it did survive, it might develop without limbs or be born unable to breathe.
There was also a high risk of Mrs Evans developing a dangerous womb infection.
‘It was a lot to take in,’ she said.
She was admitted to hospital for the next 48 hours and given antibiotics to reduce the chance of infection.
Meanwhile, doctors prepared her for the high possibility that she’d lose her baby. In most cases of PPROM, labour begins within 48 hours.
I didn't want an abortion... I wanted nature to take its course
But as she waited in bed for what seemed to be an inevitable miscarriage, Mrs Evans was not prepared to completely abandon hope.
‘I’m a positive person, by nature, and I refused to give up on the pregnancy or mourn this baby until we knew exactly what was happening,’ she told MailOnline.
Whilst resting in bed, she spent two days researching the condition.
‘I joined Facebook support groups on my phone, read medical papers and exchanged messages with other mums,’ she said.
‘I discovered that, in reality, there seemed to be a much higher rate of survival in these cases than the one per cent figure from official statistics. That gave me hope.
‘But I also forced myself to read negative stories, from mums who’d lost their babies, which was very upsetting.’
Mrs Evans learned it was standard procedure for doctors in the UK to offer a termination to expectant mums with PPROM, to give them the best chance of avoiding an infection.
But she refused to give up hope.
‘This was a very much wanted pregnancy,’ she said. ‘I could feel my baby kicking. I already loved this little person.’
When, after two days, she hadn’t miscarried, a consultant came to see her and asked if she would agree to a termination.
But the couple, who also have three-year-old Amber, pictured with her baby brother, said they were determined to let nature take its course, refusing to give up on their unborn child
‘I told her that no, I didn’t want an abortion,’ she told MailOnline. ‘I said that I wanted nature to take its course.
'She was clearly shocked because she told me that, perhaps, I should speak to my husband, implying that he’d be less emotional.’
But Mr Evans was in full agreement. They wanted to give their baby a chance at survival.
‘The consultant hadn’t done anything wrong and she was absolutely right to offer the termination,’ she said.
‘We would have been offered it at any other NHS hospital in the country. But we’d considered it quite rationally and just didn’t want to go down that road.’
Mrs Evans was discharged from hospital, with instructions to avoid any potential infection risks, such as having a bath or going swimming.
Back home, she and her husband prepared themselves for the worst. But, to their relief, days passed and Mrs Evans didn’t miscarry.
Two weeks later she returned to the Lister Hospital for a scan.
It revealed the unbelievable had happened.
Mrs Evans's waters had replenished in her womb, after the rupture healed.
Doctors told the couple they had never seen a case like theirs before.
The scan also revealed that the baby seemed to be developing normally.
‘It was the first time that I allowed myself to cry,’ said Mrs Evans.
Doctors warned Mrs Evans there was still a very high risk of infection, and that her waters could break again.
‘I barely heard the doctors telling me all this because I was on cloud nine and thought that everything was fantastic,’ Mrs Evans told MailOnline.
‘Rich had to gently bring me back to reality because there was still a chance of everything going wrong.’
Mrs Evans said: 'Holding Leo in my arms, at last, was extra special. Knowing that he was safe, despite the odds, was overwhelming'
As weeks went by and the pregnancy progressed, every week felt like a huge milestone.
‘My aim was to get to 24 weeks because, from then on, the NHS consider it a viable pregnancy – a baby rather than a foetus,’ she said.
‘It’s amazing how you will fight for this baby inside you. I wanted my child to make it.’
For the remainder of her pregnancy Mrs Evans and her family endured a nervous wait.
But, when her waters broke again, in January 2014 Mrs Evans was almost 34 weeks into her pregnancy.
The couple were on holiday on the Norfolk Broads at the time, leaving them unable to make it back to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
Their son Leo was born at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, six weeks early weighing 4lbs 13oz.
He spent 24 hours in an incubator in the special care unit and was allowed home after five days.
‘Holding Leo in my arms, at last, was extra special,’ Mrs Evans told MailOnline. ‘Knowing that he was safe, despite all the odds, was overwhelming. Little Amber adored her baby brother too.
‘She grinned all the way home from hospital in the car.
'Over the next few weeks, she was so caring towards him. She’d carefully lay a tea towel on him as he slept, saying that he needed an extra blanket.’
Leo is now eight-months-old and thriving and weighs 17 pounds.
‘He’s sitting up and chatting and his paediatrician says that, by 10 months he’ll have completely caught up with his development,’ Mrs Evans said.
A spokesman for the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, said: 'Fortunately the complications that Ms Evans experienced during her pregnancy are very rare, and we are absolutely delighted that she went on to have a healthy baby boy'
‘We feel unbelievably lucky. It’s just over a year now since I was sitting in that hospital bed, waiting for a miscarriage.
‘I read all the other stories from women that had been through the same thing and had sad endings so I know very well how it could have gone.
‘There was certainly a point when I told myself that there wasn’t much hope. To go from that to looking at my son, a year on, feels surreal and wonderful. Leo’s grandparents call him the miracle baby.
‘We’re all so blessed and grateful to have him. He's a very special little boy.’
A Lister Hospital spokesman said: ‘At the Diamond Jubilee Maternity Unit at the Lister hospital in Stevenage, we see over 5,000 expectant mothers a year.
'Fortunately the complications that Ms Evans experienced during her pregnancy are very rare, and we are absolutely delighted that she went on to have a healthy baby boy.
'We understand that she was happy with the care she received at the Lister and would like to wish her and baby Leo all the best for the future.’
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