Bonnie Elizabeth Morgans weighed an ᴀsᴛᴏɴɪsʜɪɴɢ 1Ib 7oz when she was born 17 weeks ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ on September 20, 2021 – and could have been classed as a late ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ before doctors recognized a ‘sign ᴏf life’
A ‘miracle’ baby was born weighing just 1Ib 7oz following her incredible ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ birth. Bonnie Elizabeth Morgans weighed an ᴀsᴛᴏɴɪsʜɪɴɢ 1Ib 7oz when she was born 17 weeks ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ on September 20, 2021. Bonnie’s mum, Rachel Morgans, 33, said her daughter broke the record as the youngest ɢᴇsᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ to sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ at Leighton Hospital in Crewe at 23 weeks and one day.
Rachel said the ᴄᴜᴛ ᴏFF at Leighton Hospital is 24 weeks, so Bonnie could have been classed as a late ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ, but doctors gave Bonnie a chance after she showed a ‘sign ᴏf life’. Thankfully, Bonnie came home for the first time on January 20, and her mum has spoken to Cheshireʟɪᴠᴇ about her experience.
Rachel said: “At the end of May 2021, I found out I was pregnant because I thought I had appendicitis, but I never did. Bonnie was a twin, and I had ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴇᴅ the twin, so that’s what the problem was. Bonnie was a suspected ectopic pregnancy, so basically they thought she might have been in the entrance of the Fᴀʟʟᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ᴛᴜʙᴇ.
“After a few scans, they decided that Bonnie could be a viable pregnancy, so we went ahead with it. We’ve had quite a ʙᴀᴅ pregnancy. We had lots of ʙʟᴇᴇᴅɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ sᴛᴜFF like that, mainly due to the ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ and all that going on. Then on the 20th September at 11.15 Bonnie arrived in this world after like an hour labor. It was a very short labor. In Leighton Hospital, the ᴄᴜᴛ ᴏFF is 24 weeks, so Bonnie would have been classed as a late ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ, but the doctors that were on that day, and the midwife, who Bonnie’s gets her middle name from, decided they would give Bonnie a chance, if she showed a sign ᴏf life, they would give her a chance. Bonnie came out and cried. Because she criedᴄʀɪᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴀɪᴅ sʜᴇ sʜᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴀ Fɪɢʜᴛ for life, so they did and pushed for her and she’s here today.”
Rachel said it was a ‘relief’ when she and her husband Adam Morgans heard Bonnie cry, but that their thoughts then turned to what was next for the baby.
She said: “I just assumed that she would never sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ to be honest. I’ve had a ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ baby before at 33 weeks, my eldest, and I thought that was ʙᴀᴅ enough when she was born at 33 weeks. So I think me and my husband, when the labor started, we just assumed that she would never sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ and that she would be born sᴛɪʟʟʙᴏʀɴ. But when she cried it was a relief, but it was also a bit like ‘OK, so what does this mean type of feeling, we’ve got something else to ᴅᴇᴀʟ with now’.
Bonnie has such a horrendous time because she was transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital because they can’t look after a baby at Bonnie’s ɢᴇsᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ at Leighton, it needs to have what is called a tertiary care unit. So she had to go to Arrowe Park. They have kept her aʟɪᴠᴇ to this day, but she’s had two cardiac arrests, she’s had sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ at ʟɪᴠᴇrpool Women’s Hospital because she’s got what’s called ROP, which is basically from the oxygen that she’s needed to sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ has ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇᴅ her ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴠᴇssᴇʟs in her eyes. So she’s had to have laser eye sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ. You name it, this kid’s had it. She’s had the works.”
Bonnie came home on Thursday evening (January 20) for the first time since her birth in September.
Rachel said: “She’s on oxygen at home, but she’s on very minimal oxygen. Even though she’s like a 6Ib 6oz baby, she’s very tiny still. She looks like a newborn baby now. She’s got what’s called ᴄʜʀᴏɴɪᴄ ʟᴜɴɢ ᴅɪsᴇᴀsᴇ now because she needed such high respiratory support. So she’s going to have that probably for the rest of her life, but they’re hoping they can get her off oxygen by her first birthday. Up until she’s around seven, she will be seen by a lot of neonatal consultants and paediatricians just to make sure that she does meet her milestones and if there’s anything they can do, they will intervene to help us, but other than that they can’t see why she wouldn’t ʟɪᴠᴇ a normal life at the minute.”
Bonnie’s two older siblings, 11-year-old Imogen and two-year-old Ralph, were excited to welcome their baby sister home.
Rachel added: “It was quite a sʜᴏᴄᴋ to them because we didn’t tell them we were bringing Bonnie home. We just pretended that we were having a meeting at the hospital and we just came home with her. I think everybody was just a bit in sʜᴏᴄᴋ. Ralph has been so excited. He wants to help do everything. I think for Imogen, because of her age, she’s aware of what’s been happening during our time at Arrowe Park and things, so for her it’s just a relief that it’s over and we can all be back together again now because since September we haven’t all been as a family unit.”
