We had our babies under the 24-week abortion limit - and they all survived

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Femail spoke to four families whose children were all born on or before the 24-week abortion threshold.

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Survivors: L-R - Jamie, five; Liam, 11; David, two; and Kirsty, six

LIAM

Liam Watkins is 11. He was born at 24 weeks, weighing just 1lb 7oz. He lives with his mum, Wendy, 37, who works part-time for a supermarket, his father, Steve, 40, a welder, and his six-year-old sister, Becky, in Canvey Island, Essex. Wendy says:

"Looking at the wonderful, perfect child that Liam is today, I can barely bring myself to remember what my 'baby' looked like when he was born at 24 weeks.

He was so tiny - only about five inches long. He looked more like a tiny purple chicken than a human being. I remember wondering if anything would be enough to save him - but I never once thought that he didn't deserve to live.

Liam Watkins as a baby born at 24 weeks, and today as a healthy 11-year-old

Whatever he looked like, there was no doubt in my mind that he was very much alive. Not just a foetus, but a real child with a right to live. And to see that he has become such a happy and well-adjusted child makes me want to cry - he really is a miracle.

Until Liam's birth I'd had a completely normal pregnancy, but then totally out of the blue - and with no medical explanation - I went into labour at 22 weeks. It was horrific - I could feel him coming out and I felt powerless to stop it happening. It was such a shock and I was taken to hospital.

The doctor said there was nothing they could do, but I was put on a drip to stop the contractions and even my bed was tilted up because his foot had started to emerge. I managed to hold on to him for another two weeks, and then I was transferred to St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in London.

I was so worried, because at that stage the doctors warned me it would be hard to save his life. He came at 24 weeks - he shot out, like a tiny fish. He was rushed off to intensive care and my first sight of him was lying in a respirator, covered in bubble wrap to keep him warm, with wires coming out of what looked like every part of him.

He had a faulty heart valve, which fortunately resolved itself without an operation. Also, because he was on a ventilator, at one point one of his tubes into his lungs blocked and he needed emergency treatment. It's fair to say he had more than his fair share of problems.

However, at no point did the doctors give up on him. Even though he was barely the length of a man's hand - one of his arms was barely the size of my finger - as far as we were concerned he was a human being.

Amazingly, after three months in hospital - where we kept vigil daily - he was allowed home. He did need oxygen cylinders to help him breathe for two weeks because his lungs weren't strong enough to function on their own, but after that he came on in leaps and bounds.

Until he was four he was still quite small, but 11 years on he's completely caught up height and development wise, and you'd never know this energetic little boy was a child who was so premature he could legally have been aborted.

Liam is very special to us, but we try not to go on about it too much as I don't want to put too much pressure on him. He is quite a perfectionist, which I think may be a result of trying to live up to his 'miracle image'.

As a result of everything we've been through as a family, I firmly believe the abortion limit should be lowered to at least 20 weeks. It makes me so upset to think about babies being aborted at the time when Liam was born.

You have only to look at Liam to realise he was very much a person, even at 24 weeks. And babies from 20 weeks onwards are functioning human beings who can, and should, have the right to live."

KIRSTY

Kirsty Stanton was born at just under 24 weeks. Today she is a happy 6-year-old

Kirsty Stanton is six. She was born at just under 24 weeks, weighing 11/2lb. She lives with her mum, Lisa, 37, father, John, 42, and sister, Amy, 13, in Northampton. John and Lisa run their own electrical business. Lisa says:

"I would not want to stand in judgement on anyone, but I do think the abortion limit is too high. It's incredible to think that Kirsty survived - and she's such a gorgeous girl today - when so many thousands of women choose to abort their babies around exactly that gestation period.

When I went into labour with her - completely out of the blue - there was no question that the doctors would fight tooth and nail to save her. In fact, they spoke of the horror stories of children who had been aborted at that time period.

My husband John says he heard horrific stories from the nurses about aborted babies at 20 to 24 weeks still being alive when they had been aborted.

To me, a life is a life. I am not anti-abortion, but the law needs to be changed. My first daughter, Amy, was slightly premature, at eight months, and I had pre-eclampsia. She was only 3lb and 14oz when she was born, but fortunately did not have any health problems. I had to have a blood transfusion, as I had lost so much blood.

Then, when I was just 20 weeks pregnant with Kirsty, I suddenly got an awful headache. I told John I felt as if I was going to explode with the pain. It was so bad that he took me to hospital and when I got there they immediately diagnosed pre-eclampsia.

My blood pressure was shooting through the roof and the doctors told me if I hadn't come in I would have died, it was so high.

I was put on emergency medication to bring it down, and then spent four weeks resting in hospital. But they realised the baby was not growing, and at 24 weeks I had an emergency Caesarean.

Kirsty was taken into intensive care and I was taken to the other side of the hospital to be given blood. John had to put his foot down to allow me to see my baby; they were worried about both of us, as I had pre-eclampsia and was losing a lot of blood.

The next day I went to see her, and to us she looked like a tiny baby bird which had fallen out of the nest. Her skin hadn't had the chance to develop properly and she was almost transparent. She was less than four inches long.

It was amazing to think she might survive, but survive she has. She was much smaller than John's hand, a tiny, fragile thing, but determined to fight for life. The doctor warned us her chances were slim, but she has proved everyone wrong. She's like that today - very stubborn.

When she came home from hospital, she needed an oxygen cylinder to breathe for at least two months. But remarkably she has been so healthy. She is small for her age and is susceptible to colds and chest infections.

She also has slightly delayed speech, which is common in premature babies, and a pierced eardrum because that wasn't fully formed. But otherwise she is no different to any other child. I think it's incredible she can function almost perfectly despite being born so prematurely. She's a walking miracle."

JAMIE

Five-year-old Jamie Swanborough was born at 23 weeks

Five-year-old Jamie Swanborough was born at 23 weeks, weighing 1lb, 6oz, one of the youngest premature babies to survive in the country. His parents, Catherine, 28, and Darren, 29, divorced and have shared custody. Darren works for an entertainment agency and lives near Southampton. He says:

"Jamie was born so prematurely because Catherine had a water infection. We had no pre-warning and it was such a shock. She started having contractions, so I took her to the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton.

We thought we would be told this would pass and she would be able to go home, but in fact the doctor horrified us by saying this baby was going to be born.

When he arrived, less than five inches long, Jamie was so tiny, like a baby bird with no feathers. We just gazed at him in intensive care, willing him to live. His lungs were under-developed and his skin was so sensitive because it was not properly formed - very premature babies have almost purple, transparent skin.

The instinct for survival is so very strong, and I felt he would be OK. But he was so small, not even as long as a pencil - his first nappy was a cotton wool bud! He wasn't even strong enough for us to give him a cuddle - we could only stroke him very, very gently as he lay in his respirator.

Over the next five months he was constantly monitored and as he became stronger he was taken out of intensive care. He came home after five months in a neo-natal ward, and he has beaten all the odds. We were also told it was highly likely he would have some form of disability, but he flew through all his tests in his first year. He was very small for his age, but that has been the only sign. We say he is 'dinky' and the girls in his class think he is cute.

He is an extremely bright boy and was the first child in his class to learn to read. He's just started school, and he's very quick to learn. It is almost as if he knows how special he is and how precious life is.

He does get coughs and colds and we have to be careful with that, but that's about the only health problem he has. He's just a regular boy, much adored by everyone.

Sadly, Catherine and I split up, which had nothing to do with his premature birth, and we now share custody of him.

He's very aware of his 'gift of life' and this year he'll be taking part in the 'Splashathon', a charity swimming event for the charity Tommy's, to help other babies like him have the chance of life.

I do feel that babies aborted at under 24 weeks should be given a chance of life. It really does make you think when you look at children like Jamie."

DAVID

Two-year-old David Ross Richardson was born at 23 weeks

David Ross Richardson, two, was born at 23 weeks. He lives with his mum, Ruth, 37, a care assistant, and dad, David, 43, a landscape contractor in Craigavon, Co Armagh. Ruth says:

"Just before I gave birth, doctors told me my baby would be wrapped in a blanket and given to me to hold until he died. In fact, it is only thanks to one registrar, who gave me a shot of steroids to help my baby's lungs mature, that I believe David Ross is here today.

For when he was born crying for life, even if it was only a squeak, doctors could see he was a fighter and decided to help him live.

I had suffered five devastating miscarriages in as many years before doctors discovered I had two blood-clotting disorders. Then I endured injections enabling me to have David Ross.

So when my waters broke at 23 weeks and I realised I was a week off the cut-off point for resuscitating the baby, as over 24 weeks was when my baby would be 'viable', it was a terrible time.

The consultant told David and I there was no hope. But I ignored advice to 'walk round' to bring on my labour, bed-rested and managed to hang on for an extra couple of days before delivering him.

I was incredibly fortunate that just before his birth, I was transferred to the Royal Belfast Hospital where they had a specialist neonatal baby unit, where I was given steroids by a registrar doctor.

But even once he was delivered weighing 1lb 7oz, the consultant gave him only a 3 per cent chance of survival 'at best'.

He was in hospital for six months and six days and during that time we simply lived with hourly uncertainty. His life was threatened virtually every day - he endured open heart surgery, three hernia repairs, had two laser eye surgeries, contracted meningitis and E. coli, and all his veins broke down.

But his drive to live was incredible - bringing him home weighing 8lb was a fantastic moment. Having seen my own child fight for life, I feel passionately that if a baby draws breath, doctors should do everything possible to save it.

Not to offer babies care, even if they're born before 24 weeks, is to my mind murder. And to kill them during an abortion when they would take a breath once born is also murder.

In fact, I believe that leaving the abortion limit at 24 weeks is simply scandalous and feel it should be reduced to around 14 weeks.

I also find it upsetting that if David Ross had died, he would have been classed as a miscarriage and not given a proper birth and death certificate. Doctors told us that because David Ross had suffered two brain bleeds, he might never walk. But today he is a lively, inquisitive toddler.

He does have very mild cerebral palsy and undergoes speech therapy and physiotherapy. But otherwise, since he came home he has been healthy.

I would have liked more children, but face the knowledge that after five miscarriages and nearly losing David Ross, he might be our only child. To think that if doctors hadn't resuscitated him I might not have become a mum is unthinkable."

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