In a recent incident took place in Brisbane, a woman has given birth to a baby boy whose intestines extended out from his stomach. It was a terrible situation for the doctor and the woman. Earlier, the doctor said the woman to have an abortion when he found the birth defect. This birth defect is medically termed as Gastroschisis.
The woman is Holly Hodgson and her son is Teddy. He is now eight months old. His intestines were poking through a hole in his abdomen. Holly is the first-time mother laying her eyes on her child for the very first time. The doctor who had experienced three same cases earlier advised her to terminate the pregnancy after knowing the birth defect.
However, Ms. Hodgson and her husband Stephen refused the doctor’s advice and surprised after doing some research online about 95% of babies diagnosed with the condition survive the pregnancy. Teddy was born on December 14, 2015. ‘He’s such a happy boy. He loves making faces and talking to people. He always smiles, giggles and squeaks at people he doesn’t even know – it’s very cute,’ Teddy’s father Stephen said.
Operating On Teddy:
According to Brisbane’s Mater Mother’s Hospital, “the birth defect which affects one in every 5,000 babies can cause growth delay, however, this can be monitored through a fortnightly ultrasound.” The website also said that “the delivery decisions should not be made ‘on the appearance of the fetal bowel’ as the condition can often improve when the baby is carried to full term but did warn of the risks associated with the defect.”
‘90-95% of babies identified with Gastroschisis have survived the pregnancy which means that 5-10% of babies will not be born alive.’
Ms. Hodgson has expressed her happiness that she and her husband sought a second opinion and was elated when their son Teddy, was delivered. Teddy was born early and his small and large intestines had protruded from his stomach but the doctors quickly jumped and operated on Teddy to save him. He was placed cling wrap, then in a silo bag for almost a fortnight to give his stomach time to grow and his organs could be put back inside.