A same-sex couple who splashed out £10,000 to have their dream baby are hailing him as a miracle tot – after he was technically STILLBORN but survived.
Abbie and Laura Tomkins’ joy at welcoming their son into the world almost turned to sadness, after medics told them he was born dead.
For an agonising 22 minutes, the married couple were forced to watch while doctors worked tirelessly to resuscitate the tiny tot.
Abbie, 24, says: “I went into an extreme shock and Laura vomited upon hearing the news.
“Doctors started rallying around Jacob and we couldn’t see him.
“I couldn’t hear anything from him and tears were streaming down my face.”
“After 22 minutes, which felt like a lifetime, he started breathing.
“It was a miracle, but they then rushed him to Guy’s hospital in London.
“Laura had to stay where she was and I went with Jacob.”
Thankfully, little Jacob, who was born weighing just 6lb 10oz, pulled through, and is now safely at home with his mums, in Chelmsford, Essex.
Laura, 21, said: “We love him with all our hearts. He’s just perfect.”
Doctors at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, decided to induce Laura on May 30, due to reduced foetal movement.
After they revived him, Jacob developed a brain damage condition hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy that saw him with a one per cent survival rate, due to being without oxygen for almost half an hour.
But thankfully, after a month in hospital, little Jacob was discharged.
The pair, who married in February 2013, started trying for a baby last January, and after one agonising miscarriage and failed rounds of IUI, Laura eventually fell pregnant in September 2014.
Abbie said: “At first we tried IUI which didn’t work. Then we tried our first round of IVF.”
Due to Laura being healthy and under 23, the lesbian couple would never qualify for the NHS free IVF first round.
Abbie said: “We fell pregnant but after eight weeks Laura miscarried.”
The devastated pair mourned the loss of their unborn baby, but were determined to try again, and Laura eventually fell pregnant after £6000 of fertility treatment.
Abbie said: “Jacob is a real fighter – doctors don’t know why he was not breathing, but he’s managed to pull through like a little trooper.
“We won’t know the extent of his brain damage until he is a year old and he could have cerebral palsy.
“We hope he makes a full recovery.
“We have always wanted a baby and fought hard for it and no matter the outcome we love him with all our heart.”
