Keep fighting for your premature baby, Somerset mum says

"Had I accepted their medical opinion Rafael wouldn't be here today", a mother of a premature baby has said.

Sara Lowry, from Somerset, gave birth to Rafael 24 weeks into her pregnancy in February 2021, he weighed just 640g.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (CWH) doctors advised he would not survive after months of health complications, so she fought to find care elsewhere.

He was on a ventilator at the time. CWH has declined to comment. Ms Lowry said it was always worth fighting.

It was when Rafael was moved to The Royal Brompton Hospital that his condition improved but Ms Lowry said even the doctors there were astounded when he got better after they gave him a rarely used low-dose steroid treatment.

Rafael received a different steroid treatment at CWH where he was born.

At the time, he was moved between Homerton Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, Bristol Royal Infirmary Hospital and Musgrove Hospital for critical care, life saving and sight saving treatments and recovery care.

"Had I accepted their medical opinion Rafael wouldn't be here today," Ms Lowry said.

"Not to discredit the doctors in any way, they kept him alive for five and a half months.

"[But they said] there was no treatment for him, and he was too poorly, and they said his quality of life was so poor that it wasn't fair keeping him going."

When his health declined Rafael required a ventilator to keep him alive.

"I knew that he would survive, I didn't know how. That's what I believed and here he is today," she added.

After spending about 14 months in hospitals he was finally able to go home for the first time.

The Royal Brompton Hospital head of nursing Victoria Felton said: "We are pleased to see that Rafael has made such a good recovery.

"He is able to have time off his ventilator now, his progress is good and we're happy to see him doing well."

Ms Lowry said Rafael was "a miracle".

She said she hoped her story would help to spread awareness of the difficulties that premature births can bring as well as hope that they could be overcome.

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