Doctors Told Mom to Have Abortion of Baby With Rare Illness, She Refused and Her Newborn is Healthy

International   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Oct 16, 2019   |   9:28PM   |   London, England

A Scottish baby girl who was expected to die from a rare lung condition went home from the hospital Monday with her family.

The Daily Record reports Georgia Davidson could have been aborted after she was diagnosed with a pleural effusion, but her mother, Lindsay Chambers, of Uphall Station, Scotland, refused to give up hope for her daughter.

Chambers said she first learned the bad news about her unborn daughter during her 20-week pregnancy scan. A day later, doctors at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary diagnosed Georgia with a pleural effusion, or fluid build-up that was crushing one of her lungs, according to the report.

“They asked me if I wanted to continue the pregnancy or have a termination. I knew I would never terminate, so we said we would go ahead and asked what did they propose,” Chambers said.

Five weeks later, Georgia was diagnosed with hydrops, meaning fluid was building up around multiple organs and causing her tiny body to swell, the report continues.

“We didn’t really know anything about the condition and the hospital didn’t seem to know much either,” her mother remembered. “When I went back the following week, the fluid had worsened and she was really poorly. They didn’t think she could survive.”

When Chambers began to look into the condition, she said she learned of the possibility of a fetal surgery to place a shunt in the baby to drain the fluid. She said the hospital refused, saying Georgia likely would not survive.

“But in my mind my baby’s heart was still beating, she was still alive and I knew I wanted to fight for her,” her mother said.

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She turned to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for a second opinion, and, there, doctors agreed to try the shunt, according to the report. Georgia survived, but eventually she needed a second shunt to drain the fluid that was putting so much pressure on her body, her mother said.

Though Georgia was still alive, her condition began to affect her mother, too. Chambers said the fluid from her daughter began to drain into her own body, causing additional problems. Doctors performed a cesarean section on June 19, and Georgia was born weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces, according to the report.

Slowly, signs of hope continued to grow. Georgia underwent lung surgery when she was 10 weeks old, and fought through the difficult procedure, according to the report.

After 90 days in the hospital, the little girl grew well enough to go home. Her parents said they took her home for the first time Monday, and they are so grateful to the medical workers who helped give their daughter a chance at life.

“It has been a long, long time coming,” Chambers said.