Mum's womb infection caused baby to be born at 23 weeks - weighing just 493g
- last year
A mum contracted a womb infection which caused her baby to be born at 23 weeks - weighing just 493g.
Courtney Harvey, 21, was devastated when medics gave her baby a 10% chance of survival.
But Courtney's little girl, one-year-old Melanie Harvey, is now thriving.
The ordeal began 22 weeks into the pregnancy when doctors diagnosed Courtney with an infection which was "poisoning" both her and the baby.
They prescribed antibiotics but just one week later the mum-to-be became ''terrified'' her baby would die when she went into early labour at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.
The tiny tot spent four months in hospital fighting for her life after suffering a bleed on the brain and a detached retina in her both eyes.
The brave little girl was finally able to go home in July 2022 with mum and dad Samuel Penny, 21, a kitchen worker.
Courtney, full time mum, from St Blazey, Cornwall, said: "The doctor told me I had an infection in the womb, and it was like we were poisoning each other.
“I had been so unwell - it was like my body couldn’t cope with being pregnant.
“When she was placed on my chest, she didn’t have any recognisable features.
“She looked like a little alien.
“We were told she only had a 10% chance of survival, and I was devastated.
“But she was so strong, and I knew she was a fighter."
Courtney and Samuel, who have been together three years, were over the moon when she fell pregnant in October 2021.
But the mum-to-be struggled after suffering several bleeds and crippling morning sickness while living with Samuel and his mum, Donna Penny.
She said: “I had lost a baby the year before in April 2021, so I was a nervous wreck throughout.
“I was rushed into hospital after bleeding at six, 13 and 16 weeks along.
"Every time I saw blood I thought, ''this is it - we've lost the baby''.
"But she was still there and doing fine."
At 21-weeks the couple were delighted to learn they were expecting a little girl.
But just a week later, Courtney woke up and found herself "covered in blood".
She called an ambulance and was rushed to hospital where doctors ran some tests and performed a scan.
"They discovered an infection in my womb, and we were poisoning each other," she explained.
“The doctors couldn't tell me whether she would make it or not.
"It was a really stressful time and all we could do was wait and see."
A week later, Courtney was at a friend's house when her waters suddenly broke at 23 weeks in March 2022.
She didn't realise the baby was on the way until two days later, when she was rushed to hospital having contractions.
Courtney said: "It was such little water I thought the baby was on my bladder and just peed myself.
"But I started getting pain and when I arrived, I was told I was in labour.
"I was begging for a C-section, but I was already 8cm dilated.
"The labour was horrible, and she was breach which made it more difficult.
Courtney Harvey, 21, was devastated when medics gave her baby a 10% chance of survival.
But Courtney's little girl, one-year-old Melanie Harvey, is now thriving.
The ordeal began 22 weeks into the pregnancy when doctors diagnosed Courtney with an infection which was "poisoning" both her and the baby.
They prescribed antibiotics but just one week later the mum-to-be became ''terrified'' her baby would die when she went into early labour at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.
The tiny tot spent four months in hospital fighting for her life after suffering a bleed on the brain and a detached retina in her both eyes.
The brave little girl was finally able to go home in July 2022 with mum and dad Samuel Penny, 21, a kitchen worker.
Courtney, full time mum, from St Blazey, Cornwall, said: "The doctor told me I had an infection in the womb, and it was like we were poisoning each other.
“I had been so unwell - it was like my body couldn’t cope with being pregnant.
“When she was placed on my chest, she didn’t have any recognisable features.
“She looked like a little alien.
“We were told she only had a 10% chance of survival, and I was devastated.
“But she was so strong, and I knew she was a fighter."
Courtney and Samuel, who have been together three years, were over the moon when she fell pregnant in October 2021.
But the mum-to-be struggled after suffering several bleeds and crippling morning sickness while living with Samuel and his mum, Donna Penny.
She said: “I had lost a baby the year before in April 2021, so I was a nervous wreck throughout.
“I was rushed into hospital after bleeding at six, 13 and 16 weeks along.
"Every time I saw blood I thought, ''this is it - we've lost the baby''.
"But she was still there and doing fine."
At 21-weeks the couple were delighted to learn they were expecting a little girl.
But just a week later, Courtney woke up and found herself "covered in blood".
She called an ambulance and was rushed to hospital where doctors ran some tests and performed a scan.
"They discovered an infection in my womb, and we were poisoning each other," she explained.
“The doctors couldn't tell me whether she would make it or not.
"It was a really stressful time and all we could do was wait and see."
A week later, Courtney was at a friend's house when her waters suddenly broke at 23 weeks in March 2022.
She didn't realise the baby was on the way until two days later, when she was rushed to hospital having contractions.
Courtney said: "It was such little water I thought the baby was on my bladder and just peed myself.
"But I started getting pain and when I arrived, I was told I was in labour.
"I was begging for a C-section, but I was already 8cm dilated.
"The labour was horrible, and she was breach which made it more difficult.