Second-trimester and late-term abortions are legal in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and other nations around the world. So when a very premature baby is born, it’s a clear indication of what a baby at that gestational age looks like when he or she is subjected to an abortion.
With that in mind, meet E’layah Faith. Born three months prematurely at just 10 ounces, she is one of the smallest surviving babies in the world. Thankfully, she was given life and now her family and doctor will do everything possible to ensure that she has the best chance at living a full life as she can.
E’layah Faith Pegues weighs more now, but she was only a tiny 10 ounces, 10 inches when she was born about three months early.
Smith told ABC News that they gave E’Layah the middle name of Faith because she and her fiancé would always have faith and would never give up on their daughter. Before heading into the C-section, Smith prayed.
“Inside I was screaming, ‘The devil is a liar,’ you know, ‘You will never have my child,’” she said.
After nearly five months in the hospital, E’Layah now weighs five pounds and seven ounces, and while she still has some challenges ahead, she is doing really well.
“She has grown, and she has been able to breathe on her own and she looks around. She pays attention to her surroundings, she knows her mom’s voice, she knows her dad’s voice… and I’m amazed she has come this far,” Dr. Jessica Clark-Pounder of Levine Children’s Hospital told CBS News.
After overcoming some complications in January, E’Layah is finally strong enough to go home with her parents. Doctors expect that she will have a normal, healthy life.
“I want to know who she is,” said Smith. “She is feisty. I’m ready to see what’s in store.”
E’layah’s mom, Megan Smith, said about five months into her pregnancy her blood pressure was high and she almost had two strokes.
Smith said, “They were trying to set us up for the possibility of her not living, and I wasn’t accepting that.”
And then there was the moment when E’layah was in her womb and she stopped feeling her move.
The doctor said it was time to do an emergency C-section.
Smith’s fiancé had just left the room when she got the news that doctors were going to deliver their baby. She said so many thoughts were running through her head. Smith said, “I’m by myself. What am I going to do? Is my baby going to live? Is anybody going to be here when I wake up? But I prayed.”
She added, “I was just so filled with joy that she (E’layah) was ok. She came out.”
