Mhari and her husband Paul were given terrible news when Mhari’s water broke 20 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctors told her that the pregnancy was non-viable, and she needed to prepare for a termination. Yet instead of following their advice, Mhari knew they were wrong. She could feel it in her heart. She decided to keep her baby alive until he was ready to come out, regardless of the risk. What happened is something truly special.
Jett Morris was born at 25 weeks, having survived for 5 weeks in his mother’s womb after her water broke. He weighed 1.4 lbs at birth.
After his birth, Jett suffered from chronic lung disease and jaundice. He also had two holes in his heart.
Jett soon recovered from the illnesses after his lungs and organs developed. He was finally allowed to go home on March 5, almost three weeks before his original due date. The holes in his heart should not affect his life at all.
When doctors advised termination, Mhari couldn’t believe they gave up on Jett so quickly. “When my waters broke at 20 weeks, they didn’t see him as a child yet; they just called him a ‘non-viable fetus.’ It was cold and I was devastated.”
“I was in the early pregnancy unit and no-one from pediatrics came to talk to me about my other options. But I’d just had a 20-week scan and everything was perfect and finding out it was a boy made it very hard to accept a termination. The doctor said ‘You have to have a termination because there’s nothing we can do.'”
“I understand doctors have to tell you the worst case scenario and be blunt, but no two people on this Earth are exactly the same and doctors didn’t even give Jett a chance. When he came back in and Paul and I had talked we told him I wouldn’t be going into theatre and the doctor looked at his watch and rolled his eyes at me, as if I was wasting time. I said to Paul ‘we have to get out of here.'”
Claiming that she had to Google her options rather than receive any from her medics, Mhari now worries for other mothers. “We have a happy outcome, but I worry that other mothers could have had an abortion when their babies might have survived.”
Jett is quite the little miracle. He’s healthy and full of life one year after his birth, all thanks to a mother who knew he’d have the unbelievable will to live.
