A Gateshead baby born weighing less than a bag of sugar at just 1lb 6oz is amazing doctors with his courageous fight for survival.
Mum Emma Harris from Heworth went into early labour at 23 weeks and delivered her son David Harris at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary on Friday, June 23.
The little fighter arrived into the world at 6.23am - more than three months earlier than his October due date. Despite his tiny size, David even managed to cry out and grip his mother's hand before being taken to the hospital's special care baby unit.
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"He's such a little fighter and was even crying when he came out," Emma's twin sister Vicky Oliver, 35, told Chronicle Live.
"He was showing all the good signs. He ventilated straight away and was even gripping onto her finger before being taken down to the special care baby unit.
"The doctors are all really pleased with his progress. All the staff have been amazing at the RVI."
Emma first became concerned that she may have gone into early labour after losing blood that she believed looked like the 'mucus plug'. After raising it with doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, she underwent scans but was reassured everything looked fine.
But just days later she began to have contractions and returned to hospital where she discovered her waters had ruptured. She was then transferred to the RVI with partner Alec Stocks by her side, while doctors tried to slow down the labour.
Sister Vicky said: "We were told that doctors were not able to stop the labour once the waters were ruptured, they just hoped it would stop itself.
"They gave her magnesium to slow things down which it did, so I went home, but was only back two hours before they rang and said she was fully dilated and I quickly went back to the RVI."
But now Emma is facing the additional stress of not being eligible to receive early maternity pay due to only starting a new job in March. Emma, who is also mum to daughter, Ellie Harris, 11, will get a maternity allowance, according to sister Vicky, but it will only start after the baby is 26 weeks old.
In a bid to ease some of the financial pressure, Vicky has set up a Go Fund Me Page which aims to raise £5,000 to cover household bills and some of the cost of travelling to and from the hospital while David receives intensive care.
"She just started a new job in March so she is not entitled to statutory maternity pay or anything from them," Vicky said.
"She had only been working there for one month when she found out she was pregnant. They were going to start trying for a baby this October and then she found out she was pregnant a bit earlier so the baby was actually going to be due in October instead.
"She will be entitled to maternity allowance which is a smaller payment but that is only available when the baby is 26 weeks old and I think it takes about four weeks to apply to get that through.
"It is stress that she doesn't need which is why I have decided to set up this fundraiser.
"We are really grateful for everybody's support so far."
To donate visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/emma-and-alec
