Little Niamh was born weighing just 1.5lbs and has since been described as a ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ miracle by sᴛᴜɴɴᴇᴅ doctors after her life was saved minutes after her birth by her hero gran.
A hero gran ʀᴇsᴜsᴄɪᴛᴀᴛᴇd her newborn granddaughter twice after the tiny tot arrived ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇly at home. Joanne Dolan sprang into action when Katie Dolan went into labor after just 24 weeks and five days of pregnancy. Little Niamh was born breech and weighing just 1.5lbs – and has since been described as a ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ miracle by sᴛᴜɴɴᴇᴅ doctors. Much of her sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ was down to her 53-year-old gran Joanne, who performed mouth-to-mouth on the tot to save her life twice.
Joanne said: “I didn’t have any time to think, I was terrified but just acted as quickly as I could. I was anxious and unsure if I had done it properly but was on the phone to 999 and they explained how to ᴅᴏ ᴛʜᴇ C.P.R.”
Katie, a 24-year-old recruitment consultant from Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, only became aware of her pregnancy at 19 weeks. She was then in and out of the hospital with heavy bleeding after 22 weeks.
Katie said: “The bleeding kept starting and stopping, and I was being transferred around lots of different hospitals – it was quite scary and I had no idea what was going on.”
On November 24, Katie was finally able to return home from the hospital and her mum stayed with her.
Katie said: “I woke up at midnight with an urge to go to the toilet. Then I started getting really strong contractions, and I remember sʜᴏᴜᴛɪɴɢ and calling for my mum. She immediately called the ᴀᴍʙᴜʟᴀɴᴄᴇ and they stayed on the phone with us while my mum had to deliver my baby. Within 15 minutes, Niamh had been delivered and was born breech. My mum had to ʀᴇsᴜsᴄɪᴛᴀᴛᴇ Niamh twice.”
Joanne, a customer assistant, said: “The whole thing was so scary but I knew I had to do something.”
After Niamh was born, two ᴀᴍʙᴜʟᴀɴᴄᴇs arrived and took the family to Pinderfields Hospital. Neonatal staff met the ᴀᴍʙᴜʟᴀɴᴄᴇ and had to do all sorts to try and get Niamh ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜɪɴɢ.
She added: “My mum and I had to wait for 5 hours in the waiting room to see if Niamh was ok or not. The staff managed to get her stable. It was absolutely terrifying. They then said that Niamh would need to be transferred to a specialist hospital in Sheffield, but that she was quite poorly and did not know if she was going to make the journey.
“I wasn’t even allowed to go to Sheffield with her because you can’t travel 24 hours after giving birth – I was in so much ᴘᴀɪɴ ᴀɴᴅ sʜᴏᴄᴋ.”Katie said
Katie then went home “exhausted” with her mum, and waited for a phone call which then confirmed Niamh had made it to the hospital safely and was in a stable ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ. The baby is now 10 weeks old and on ʜɪɢʜ Fʟᴏᴡ ᴏxʏɢᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʀᴀᴘʏ, and will still and is still a while away from coming home.
Katie said: “I haven’t been able to hold Niamh as she’s been on a ventilator and is being fed through a tube. She is now 3.7lbs and needs to put more weight on before she can come home to us. It’s ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ – the ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ staff called her a ‘ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ miracle baby’ as they had never seen a baby born this early at home and survived.”
