Premature Paige wins fight for life

Apr 21 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

THIS weekend Tracy Ridley should have been giving birth to her second child. But instead her daughter Paige is three months old, having been born prematurely on January 17.

After months of expert care from nurses in the special care baby unit at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary Paige is making excellent progress and could be allowed home in the next few weeks.

Miss Ridley and boyfriend Richie Surtees’s first child was also born early, and now the couple are backing calls for more Government funding into researching the problem.

Tracy, 24, who lives in Walton Road in Newcastle, is backing charity Action Medical Research in its Stand Up For Tiny Lives campaign, which calls on the Government to lead a Premature Birth Inquiry to identify research most likely to make a difference and reduce the incidence of premature birth.

She said: “I suppose we have been really lucky to have two kids born early and both are doing fine. Other mums I’ve spoken to have babies who will be blind or disabled all their lives.

“After the first time I was hoping the second pregnancy would run normally but I was taken into hospital. They gave me a pill to take and then they applied a suture. Neither worked and there was nothing else they could do.

“It was so emotional watching Paige fight when she was tiny and it’s hard with her having been in the hospital for the last three months. Hopefully we will have her home soon.”

The couple’s son Richard was born at just 27 weeks, weighing just 2lb 4oz. He is now a healthy three-year-old.

Blaydon MP Dave Anderson is one of 27 MPs who have signed up to back the campaign. He said: “I was shocked when I saw the extent of this problem. I had no idea there were so many babies born prematurely – 25 babies dying every week is just unacceptable. I am totally supportive of what this charity is trying to do.

“It is an issue which means a lot to me because one of my best friends gave birth prematurely. The baby survived and is now 18 but has been severely disabled all her life. If we can do something to reduce the mortality that would be fantastic. We are calling on the Government to do something.”

Patrick Olszowski, campaigns manager at Action Medical Research, said: “Action Medical Research is extremely pleased to hear that Paige is making good progress, despite being born so early. We hope that members of the public will join the 1,100 people and 27 MPs that have already backed our Stand Up for Tiny Lives campaign, to call for a national premature birth research strategy, at www.standupfortinylives .org”

25 die every week

ABOUT 50,000 babies are born prematurely – before 37 weeks – in the UK every year. Every week 25 of these die as a result of complications arising from the birth.

Premature birth is the single biggest cause of death in the first year of life. As well as a high risk of death, babies born early can be at a higher risk from serious infections such as meningitis and septicaemia.

Deafness, blindness, and cerebral palsy are just some of the problems which can affect those who survive.

Sick newborns and premature babies may have to remain in the special care baby unit for weeks or months due to problems with breathing, feeding, keeping warm and fighting infection.

There is currently no national research strategy in the UK to address the causes and risks of premature birth.

And doctors don’t know what causes some babies to be born too soon – there are only limited ways of slowing labour once it starts.

The calls for an inquiry are being backed by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, Neonatal Society, the European Pre-term Labour Group, the Neonatal Nurse Association and the NCT (formerly the National Childbirth Trust).