'He shouldn't be here. But he is': Mother's joy as her 'Christmas miracle' son, born at 23 weeks, SEVEN DAYS before the abortion time-limit, defies the odds to survive

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A miracle baby has defied the odds to celebrate his first Christmas after being born one week before the abortion time-limit.

Although his due date was February 22 2018, Arthur Brumby was born at just 23 weeks on October 31 weighing 1lb 2oz.

One of the youngest premature babies to survive in Britain, Arthur, from Nottingham, is even more of a miracle as both of his parents suffer health problems and thought they would never conceive.

Although the youngster has endured two brain bleeds and suffered a life-threatening E.coli infection during his short life, Arthur is expected to be home in March and will celebrate Christmas Day in hospital with his family.  

His mother Laura Hillary, 30, a primary school teacher, said: 'He shouldn't be here. But he is, and he is wonderful', adding the youngster is a 'Christmas miracle'. 

Ms Hillary and her fiancé James Brumby, 31, a joiner, are fundraising to support their frequent hospital visits and anticipate time off work to care for Arthur when he is home. 

Current abortions in the UK allow such procedures to be carried out before the 24th week of pregnancy as it is only after this the foetus is considered a human.

Yet, campaigners urge for the time-limit to be reduced as figures revealed earlier this year show one-third of babies born at 23 weeks survive.  

Arthur Brumby will celebrate his first Christmas in hospital after being born one week before the abortion time-limit at just 23 weeks on October 31 weighing 1lb 2oz

He is a double miracle baby as both his parents (pictured) have fertility problems. His mother Laura Hillary, 30, has endometriosis and his father James Brumby, 31, has Crohn's disease

The tiny youngster is due to stay in hospital until being allowed home in March next year

Told to expect the worse 

Just three days after being told the pregnancy was progressing well, Ms Hillary, a primary school teacher, went into labour.

She said: 'Doctors said my cervix had shrunk to 1.8cm. It was funnelling and preparing for labour.'

Ms Hillary was rushed to hospital and given an emergency cervical stitch to prevent the cervix opening. Yet, shortly after, she began bleeding.

Doctors were unsure where the bleeding was coming from and signed her off work while she rested at home.

Yet, on October 27, Ms Hillary's waters broke while she was cooking dinner.

She said: 'It was coming out like a slow-release tap. I was in labour. I was only 23 weeks and one day pregnant.

'We went into absolute panic mode. We rang the hospital and they said to come in straight away.'

At Nottingham City Hospital, Ms Hillary and Mr Brumby were told the devastating news that their baby was unlikely to survive.

After three days of bed rest and just 34 minutes of active labour, Arthur was born naturally.

Ms Hillary said: 'He was clearly fighting to be there. The doctors were trying to put tubes in him and he was fighting them off. It was amazing to see.' 

Rushed to a neonatal intensive care unit, Arthur underwent sodium and blood transfusions.

Ms Hillary said: 'He'd initially been wrapped in a plastic freezer bag to replicate the womb, but he was by this point in an incubator. He had wires coming in and out of him and was tiny.

'His skin was scaly because he was so premature. But he was wonderful.'

Since then, Arthur has endured two brain bleeds and suffered E. coli, and will require heart surgery in the future.

After four weeks, Ms Hillary was finally allowed to hold him. His father Mr Brumby got his first cuddle at five weeks. 

The family will spend Christmas day together in hospital, where Arthur is expected to stay until March.  

Arthur (pictured at three hours old) has already endured two brain bleeds and E.coli infection

He is also expected to require heart surgery in the future due to his health complications

Shortly after being born Arthur was rushed to intensive care and underwent transfusions

His tiny size made him the same length as a drinks bottle (pictured at two weeks old)

Arthur was initially put in a plastic bag to replicate the womb (pictured at four weeks old)

His mother said he had wires coming in and out of him, and scaly skin due to being premature

Arthur measured considerably less than 30cm shortly after he was born 

He was born naturally after his mother was in active labour for just 34 minutes

Ms Hillary was finally allowed to hold Arthur four weeks after he was born

'I was advised to have a baby sooner rather than later' 

Arthur is even more of a miracle baby as both of his parents suffer from health complications that affect their fertility.

Mr Brumby has Crohn's disease, which doctors warned could affect his ability to father a child due to his aggressive treatment.

Ms Hillary has also faced fertility challenges after a route smear test in 2012 revealed she had pre-cancerous cells on her cervix.

She said: 'I had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia at level two. This meant there were changes to the cells that covered the outside of my cervix. Level two meant between one third and two thirds of the skin covering the cervix had abnormal cells.'

At Nottingham City Hospital in September 2012, Ms Hillary had 1.5cm of her cervix burnt away, leaving scar tissue. 

Yet in 2015 she began suffering severe stomach pains and vomiting.

Despite initially thinking it was not serious, a GP appointment and keyhole surgery revealed she was suffering from endometriosis, where tissue that behaves like the lining of the womb by breaking down and bleeding is found in other parts of the body.

This is thought to affect fertility due to tissue scarring. 

Surgeons burnt away the affected areas, but told Ms Hillary a hysterectomy would be the best way to ease her symptoms.

She said: 'I was advised to have a baby sooner rather than later.

'But James and I wanted to get married before having children.'

On October 25, 2016, Mr Brumby proposed to Ms Hillary while on a weekend away in Norfolk. 

She said: 'It was always his plan. It wasn't just because we had been told we needed to try for children.'

After booking a wedding venue for April this year, the couple were allowed two weeks to change their minds. On day 13, Ms Hillary took a pregnancy test out of the blue, only to discover it was positive.

She said: 'I couldn't believe it. We'd not been using contraceptives for years, as we were told it was unlikely it would happen naturally.'

After visiting her GP, Ms Hillary was confirmed to be between four and six weeks pregnant.

Then, during her 12-week appointment at Nottingham City Hospital, doctors discovered her cervix only measured 3cm, which is much shorter than the average of 4-to-5cm.

As the condition put her at increased risk of miscarrying, Ms Hillary had regular hospital appointments, but was told at a 20-week scan the baby was growing well. 

Ms Hillary said: 'It's not been easy. National guidelines mean my maternity allowance for a year started as soon as he arrived. But come February 22 – despite him then being four months old – he will have a corrected age, so will revert to nought.

'He's likely to have problems because he is so premature.

'James has just started a new job and money is, of course, tight. We travel back and forth to hospital. We have to anticipate taking time off to care for a tiny baby who arrived so, so early.'

Donate to the couple's cause here. 

Arthur's father's (pictured) Crohn's disease affects his fertility due to the aggressive treatment

Mr Brumby got to hold Arthur for the first time when the youngster was five weeks old

Arthur's tiny foot measured just half the length of an adult's index finger (pictured)

The couple did not plan to have Arthur when they did as they were organising their wedding

Yet they were thrilled to be expecting (pictured: the first time Arthur opened his eyes)

Arthur's mother had previously had pre-cancerous cells on her cervix that caused scar tissue

Ms Hillary was told a hysterectomy was the best treatment for her endometriosis, before being advised to have children soon (pictured during one of her first cuddles with Arthur)

The couple had not used contraception for several years due to their fertility problems

A short cervix also meant Ms Hillary was under close observation during her pregnancy