When first-time mother Kimberley James recalled, “We had a very rocky start to our pregnancy,” she was putting it mildly. She and her husband, Nick, endured months of uncertainty before finally welcoming their daughter into the world.
On four occasions, Kimberley was advised that terminating her pregnancy was the best option. But the couple refused to give up on their unborn daughter, whom they now call “our miracle baby.”
Their ordeal began when their baby was diagnosed with two potentially life-threatening conditions: hydrops fetalis, a dangerous accumulation of fluid in the body, and cystic hygroma, a fluid-filled swelling usually found around the neck.
As Dave Andrusko, editor of National Right to Life News in the US, reported, the recommendations to end the pregnancy began almost immediately.
At just 12 weeks, Kimberley learned her baby had hydrops fetalis.
“I was offered a termination by two doctors but I refused.”
Four weeks later, doctors discovered cystic hygroma.
“I was again told I could abort the baby but I just trusted that she would survive.”
Recalling the repeated advice, Kimberley said, “It must have been three or four people I was told, quite forcibly, that a termination was the best option.”
But she and Nick refused “because it was absolutely not what we wanted to do.”
Instead, they paid privately for additional scans and blood tests.
“We were determined to go ahead with the pregnancy.”
Then came an extraordinary turnaround. Both conditions disappeared during the pregnancy, and Penelope was born at Worcestershire Royal Hospital weighing a healthy 7lb 6oz.
Even doctors were astonished, with Kimberley describing their reaction as “gobsmacked.”
“Penelope defied all odds and the hydrops disappeared at 16 weeks and the cystic hygroma also disappeared after 20 weeks,” Kimberley said. “The doctors all said it was unheard of for the hydrops to disappear and we still to this day don’t know what caused it or why it went away.”
Reflecting on their happiness, Kimberley said, “We are so in love with her and so thankful that we continued with the pregnancy despite the extremely poor prognosis at the start.”
“She really is a little miracle.”