The baby who survived a termination
Sunday 14th June 2009
Lying in bed beside my 16-year-old daughter, Nicole, I could hear her quietly sobbing. Turning over, my heart sank when I saw her sad little face in the dark. 'Was it for the best?' she wept. 'Yes love,' I said. Nicole had had a termination a week earlier, when she'd been 11 weeks pregnant. I'd been devastated when she'd told me she was pregnant three weeks before that, after a one-night stand, but I'd vowed to stand by her whatever she chose. She'd chosen to have an abortion. Part of me had been relieved. I knew only too well how hard being a young mum was.
I'd been just 18 when I'd had Nicole. Don't get me wrong, I loved her and my other kids, Alan, 14, Ashley, 10, and Emma, 6. But I felt I'd sacrificed my freedom. Now, I hated seeing her like this. We shared a bed, you see, and I heard every last heartbroken sob. It took three months for Nicole's tears to dry up. But then, she sat bolt upright in bed one morning. 'I just felt a kick,' she gasped. 'Don't talk rubbish,' I said. Poor Nicole. Was it guilt talking? She'd had an abortion for heaven's sake. The contraceptive injection had stopped her periods and made her gain weight but the doctor had warned us about those side effects. But she couldn't let it go, and a week on, she did a pregnancy test. 'Mum!' she screamed from the bathroom, sounding hysterical. When I ran in, and found her holding that little white stick, she didn't have to tell me. I knew it was positive. 'Oh my God,' she gasped. 'How?' I spluttered.
In disbelief, I took her to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where an internal examination confirmed it. 'B-but she had a termination,' I stuttered. 'We won't know any more without a scan,' the doctor admitted. As the hospital didn't have a maternity unit, I took her to Princess Royal Maternity Hospital the following morning. Looking at the grainy grey shape on the screen, I felt overwhelmed. Right then, I'd have given anything for Nicole to keep the baby. 'You're 26 weeks along,' the doctor confirmed. 'The baby survived the termination.' I couldn't take it in.
'You have an unusual shaped womb,' he added. 'Plus, the baby could be in your abdomen, not your womb. It's extremely rare.' 'I don't want a baby,' Nicole wept. 'The limit for a termination is 24 weeks,' the doctor said. 'You're too far along. But he's a perfect little boy.' And judging by the way he was kicking, the termination hadn't harmed him at all.
Back home, Nicole was quiet and I decided not to push her. It was two weeks before she turned to me. 'I never wanted an abortion,' she said. 'I thought it was the right thing.' Relief wasn't the word. Over the next weeks, we stocked up on tiny blue Babygros and socks. Nicole decided to name him Marco. Due to her unusual pregnancy, she had scans every fortnight. When she was 33 weeks along, the doctor decided to admit her. 'We'll need to do a Caesarean section soon,' he said. 'In case the baby is growing outside your womb.' 'Please don't let anything happen to Marco,' Nicole pleaded. She went in for the Caesarean on 23 March. An hour on, a doctor told me Marco was fine, but small at 4lb 7oz and in the special care unit. I could only see him through a pane of glass, but he was the spitting image of my son, Alan.
It turned out Marco had been in Nicole's womb after all, but the unusual shape had made it difficult for doctors to tell from the scans. The shape of her womb may also have caused the termination to fail. Nicole came home a week on, but she spent every waking moment with Marco in hospital until he came home two weeks later. Marco's 10 weeks old now, and Nicole's a devoted mum. I never wanted her to be like me, but now, I can't imagine life without Marco. And when Nicole decides that she's ready to go to college, I'll babysit. Someday, we'll show Marco this story so he can understand what a miracle her is. He had a rocky start, but no baby's ever been more loved.
Nicole says: 'I'm so relieved the termination didn't work and I know Mum's here if I need her.'
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: 'There were complications in Nicole's case, but we are delighted that she and her son are happy and healthy.'