In this touching scene, one of the tiniest babies in the UK makes it through her father’s first embrace.
Tiny Macey Micklethwaite, from Worcester, was barely bigger than her dad’s hand when she was born weighing just 551g. What makes her survival even more miraculous is that her dad Rhys, had been in a ʜᴏʀʀɪFɪᴄ motorbike ᴄʀᴀsʜ just weeks before – and had cheated ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ by a second.
So when mum Karen Dawkins, 33, discovered she was 18 weeks pregnant, the couple was thrilled. But just over a month later, Karen went into ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ labor – and medics warned the couple it was unlikely their new daughter would survive.
‘When she was born she was the size of my hand. I look back at photos and think how un-baby-like she looks, but at the time I thought ”wow, what a baby.
She ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇᴅ through so much. I feel so lucky to have her and that time was my birthday the day after I had her, and the birth was a joyous occasion. I would say it was the best day of my life”. Mom said
She was five months old before she was finally allowed to go home. When she was eight-months-old, she weighed 8.5lbs – just over the average weight of a full-term newborn. She is just a normal baby. She is small but catching others up. Health and development wise she is on track.
‘It’s amazing how much she has ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇᴅ through.’
The family was supported by the charity Cots for Tots, which raises funds for ʟɪFe-sᴀᴠɪɴɢ equipment for ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ infants and provides free accommodation to parents and siblings of babies at St Michael’s. She’s now fundraising for them as she is so thankful for the help she received.