Mother's good-bye saves her baby! (absolutely amazing story - with photos)

Salesians ^ | August 27, 2009 | Padre Steve

[NYer]

This is a miracle and an amazing story! Thanks to the milk of human kindness on this one:

When Carolyn Isbister put her 20oz baby on her chest for a cuddle, she thought that it would be the only chance she would ever have to hold her.

Doctors had told the parents that baby Rachel only had only minutes to live because her heart was beating once every ten seconds and she was not breathing.

Isbister remembers:

I didn’t want her to die being cold. So I lifted her out of her blanket and put her against my skin to warm her up. Her feet were so cold.

It was the only cuddle I was going to have with her, so I wanted to remember the moment.” Then something remarkable happened. The warmth of her mother’s skin kick started Rachael’s heart into beating properly, which allowed her to take little breaths of her own.

We couldn’t believe it – and neither could the doctors. She let out a tiny cry.

The doctors came in and said there was still no hope – but I wasn’t letting go of her. We had her blessed by the hospital chaplain, and waited for her to slip away. But she still hung on.

And then amazingly the pink color began to return to her cheeks. She literally was turning from gray to pink before our eyes, and she began to warm up too.

The sad part is that when the baby was born, doctors took one look at her and said ‘no’.

They didn’t even try to help her with her breathing as they said it would just prolong her dying. Everyone just gave up on her,” her mom remembered.

At 24 weeks a womb infection had led to her premature labor and birth and Isbister (who also has two children Samuel, 10, and Kirsten, 8 ) said, “We were terrified we were going to lose her. I had suffered three miscarriages before, so we didn’t think there was much hope.” When Rachael was born she was grey and lifeless.

Ian Laing, a consultant neonatologist at the hospital, said: “All the signs were that the little one was not going to make it and we took the decision to let mum have a cuddle as it was all we could do.

Two hours later the wee thing was crying. This is indeed a miracle baby and I have seen nothing like it in my 27 years of practice. I have not the slightest doubt that mother’s love saved her daughter.”

Rachael was moved onto a ventilator where she continued to make steady progress and was tube and syringe fed her mother’s pumped breastmilk.

Isbister said, “The doctors said that she had proved she was a fighter and that she now deserved some intensive care as there was some hope. She had done it all on her own – without any medical intervention or drugs. She had clung on to life – and it was all because of that cuddle. It had warmed up her body and regulated her heart and breathing enough for her to start fighting.

At 5 weeks she was taken off the ventilator and began breastfeeding on her own. At four months Rachel went home with her parents, weighing 8lbs – the same as any other healthy newborn. Because Rachel had suffered from a lack of oxygen doctors said there was a high risk of damage to her brain. But a scan showed no evidence of any problems and today Rachel is on par with her peers.

Rachel’s mom tells us, “She is doing so well. When we brought her home, the doctors told us that she was a remarkable little girl. And most of all, she just loves her cuddles. She will sleep for hours, just curled into my chest. It was that first cuddle which saved her life – and I’m just so glad I trusted my instinct and picked her up when I did. Otherwise she wouldn’t be here today.”

When a parent holds their baby on their chest, skin-to-skin, it is referred to as Kangaroo Mother Care.

The benefits for all babies of KMC are that they stabilize faster with skin-to-skin care than in an incubator (very few stabilize in an incubator well during the first six hours of life). KMC babies also have stable oxygen rates and breathing thanks to the steady regulation of Mother’s respiration. The heart rate is stable (mother’s heartbeat regulates baby’s heartbeat). The temperature is most stable on the mother – in skin-to-skin care mothers chest automatically warms to warm a cold baby, and mothers core temperature drops if her baby has a temperature.

Sleeping within an arm’s reach of baby (as long as a parent does not smoke) also regulates all of his physiological needs in the same way ~ they are kept steady thanks to Mom’s warm, even-paced body. We lose far fewer babies to prematurity, irregularity of breathing or heartbeat after birth, and SIDS all with the natural help of skin-to-skin holding, or Kangaroo Care.

Read More About skin-to-skin benefits for ALL babies (full term and premature) here: kangaroomothercare.com

[livius]

Does this mean that because the government wasn't willing to spend any money on keeping her alive that this child doesn't have to pay income taxes when she grows up?

Now that's an interesting idea!

Great, touching story.

[proudmilitarymrs]

God is indeed around us!

mrs

[siamesecats]

What a beautiful story.
Thanks for posting.
Ping! to Starwise

[Bon mots]

What an incredible story!

[wiggen]

we know.don’t we?

[cubreporter]

All Drs no matter who, what, when, where or why should ALWAYS AND FOREVER do all they can to save the life of a newborn baby and when there is absolutely nothing else left they haven’t tried...then they can know they did absolutely everything they could to save this new life. Then and only then do they have the authority to tell the parents there is no hope left. There is ALWAYS hope. The mother’s instincts and desire to keep the baby warm was what saved her life. The photo of the mom and dad holding that little life is so heartwarming. NO DOC has a right to say NO without trying things.

Yes folks...this is EXCATLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THIS HORRIFIC, VILE HEALTHCARE BILL IS PASSED. Keep fighting.

[Salvation]

BTTT!

[militant2]

“What Would Obama Do?”

Personally toss her into a garbage can.

Militant

[Kartographer]

BLURRY SCREEN ALLERT!!!

[raybbr]

When a parent holds their baby on their chest, skin-to-skin, it is referred to as Kangaroo Mother Care.

I used to love doing this with my sons.

Doesn't this mean they all have to be named Joey?

[My Favorite Headache]

“The doctors said that she had proved she was a fighter and that she now deserved some intensive care as there was some hope. She had done it all on her own – without any medical intervention or drugs. She had clung on to life – and it was all because of that cuddle. It had warmed up her body and regulated her heart and breathing enough for her to start fighting.”

Deserved, Doctors say the baby only deserved to be saved once she proved to be a fighter.

F-ck that. Every baby deserves to be saved.

[netmilsmom]

Some of us are attachment parents.
We knew this already.

My girls stayed in my room, co-sleeping until almost a year old.

It’s a very new occurrence in society to dump your newborn in another room. To me it was terrifying and no way would I let it happen.

[rockrr]

My first was a 30-week preemie and had terrible bouts of colic. Her mother had post-partum and was a wreck so I would don a pair of headphones and rock my baby for hours.

I’m a believer in KMC - even when it isn’t a mom giving it...

[Kevmo]

too late for me

pinging some prolife folks

make sure you alert the ping list that the screen gets blurry

[RaiderRose]

Amazing! Gave me goose-bumps! What a lucky family!

[NonValueAdded]

Wonderful, indeed. KMC should be standard protocol in these situations. Now if they just had a cure for the blurry font syndrome these posts seem to bring.

[Chickensoup]

No, there is a certain age where baby is not going to make it. odds way too high.

[Chickensoup]

Actualllly in some parts of Europe this kangaroo care is the standard incubator care for babies. Babies often do better next to mom and another heart can stablize the baby. Premie twins do better in the same incubator. The stronger twin stablizes the weaker on.

[sarasmom]

I had to threaten my nurses to bring me my baby to me, or I was going to get up and go get her myself, a few scant hours after a C-section.
I was perfectly serious, and absolutely intent on my course of action.
Fortunately, I had a friend in attendance who managed to convince the head nurse that not only would I do exactly what I threatened, but that any attempt to stop me would be met with violence if thwarted.
I had already endured several months of doctors telling me my baby would most probably not live, and I was certain they were wrong.
My maternal instincts were proven to be 100% correct.
My child was and remains healthy and normal.
We endured several years of extensive medical tests to prove that, but there were no extraordinary medical measures needed to help her survive and thrive. None.
Yet I was advised thorough my entire pregnancy that my child would not be born normal or healthy.
We were either magically blessed, or the medical professionals were so wrong because they had a script in mind that we did not follow.
I can only imagine how very hard life is for the parent whose child does actually require a bit of “extra medical care” to even survive.
Having actually have been forced to make “the choice” myself, of having to argue and fight the medical community to allow my baby be to be born alive, and having been told the chances are she would not be a healthy or normal child... I am obviously not all that supportive of those who think “a woman's choice” involves celebrating the vile option of a legal, socially acceptable, medically induced abortion.

[netmilsmom]

You are a great mom.
Lord Love you!