Little baby Naomi captured the hearts of pro-lifers recently after the tiny preemie defied doctors’ dire predictions and lived.
Naomi Bakker was born 15 weeks premature, and doctors told her parents that her “chances of survival without health complications were less than one percent,” National Right to Life News reported recently.
But the “feisty” baby girl fought for her life for five months in a Reno, Nevada hospital and now “Naomi is healthy and ready to graduate from the NICU with few complications,” according to Fox 28 reporter Elizabeth Faugl.
Live Action News reports more on the family’s story:
At 23 weeks gestation, Angela Bakker and her husband, Michael, were devastated to learn that their baby girl was not going to live. A routine ultrasound revealed that she was measuring much smaller than she should be, and she was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction. The placenta had not grown into the uterus properly and the little girl was not receiving adequate nutrition. The doctor told the heartbroken parents that their daughter would likely die in the womb.
Concerned for their daughter, the couple decided to get a second opinion, and they left their home in Reno, Nevada, to head to the University of California at San Francisco to meet with experts in their baby’s condition. Unfortunately, those doctors confirmed the diagnosis, and they told the Bakkers that there was the option to terminate.
Doctors repeatedly encouraged the Bakkers to abort Naomi, but they refused. They said if their daughter was going to die, they were going to let her die on her own time, according to the article.
“There were four hours left until the abortion cut off,” Angela said. “But they told us that in cases like ours they make exceptions. They said, ‘The law doesn’t even apply to you. That’s how bad your case is.’ She started kicking, and I thought, that’s her little voice. That’s all she can say.”
Just one week later, Angela’s life also was threatened by preeclampsia, and she was sent to the hospital for an emergency C-section. Baby Naomi was not expected to survive, but doctors agreed to try to help her if she did, the article states.
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The article continues:
On July 1st, baby Naomi Joy was born, and miraculously she was breathing on her own, something the doctor said he had never seen happen with a baby that tiny.
She was so tiny, her eyes were still fused shut, and though she was born at 25 weeks, she was only the size of a 19 week preborn child. She weighed just 364 grams. According to the doctors, babies need to weigh at least 450 grams to survive.
Her tiny life kept stunning doctors. First, she had a procedure done twice to repair a hole in her bowels, and the incision healed on its own. Then, doctors feared she could have brain bleeds and gave her medication to help; she never experienced the problem. And although she has chronic lung disease, doctors believe it will heal within the next two years, Live Action News reports.
Naomi arrived home in time for Thanksgiving with her big brother, Nathaniel. Doctors and her family will continue to monitor her health and growth closely from home, according to the report.
“It’s been quite a journey and so far it’s had a good ending,” Angela said. “These babies don’t get a chance because parents do end up terminating a lot of the time. It’s not been easy. It’s been difficult and heart-wrenching, and every day you wonder if your baby is going to live. … It was a shock that this happened, but our faith and trusting that no matter what, it’s taken care of, is a big part of it.”
To read the full story, find the Bakkers’ on Facebook.
