Baby beats 100 to 1 survival odds

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/manchester/6407067.stm

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A baby who was given a 1% chance of survival when she was born four months prematurely has been taken home.

Millie McDonagh weighed just 20 ounces (567g) and measured 11in (28cm) from head to toe when she was born in Manchester after a 22-week pregnancy.

She is a week older than the world's most premature baby, Amillia Taylor, who was born in the US on 24 October.

Millie's parents, Tommy McDonagh and Natalie Matthews, from Dukinfield, hailed her birth as a miracle.

Ms Matthews went into labour with twins at just 22 weeks and six days at Tameside General Hospital in October.

One of the twins, Ellie, died at birth but when staff realised Millie was alive she was rushed to the specialist unit at St Mary's Hospital, Manchester.

She was put on a life-support machine and after four months, now weighs 5lbs and still needs oxygen to help her breathe.

Millie, believed to be one of the smallest premature babies born in Britain to survive, was taken home to Dukinfield on Wednesday.

We were just hoping for the best and I said: 'That 1% chance could be Millie' Tommy McDonagh, father

Mr McDonagh, 22, told the BBC: "The doctor wanted to have a chat with us in the first week and he explained to us that because she was so premature they were only giving her a 1% chance.

"We understood. We were just hoping for the best and I said: 'That 1% chance could be Millie'.

"As you can see she is well and she is happy."

His partner Ms Matthews, 20, said the couple had spent every minute they could with their daughter.

"There were times when we were called in urgently because they feared the worst," she said.

"All we could do was sit with her and tell ourselves she was in the best place.

"I'm really looking forward to being able to do things with her and seeing her grow up."