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'Ghost white baby born without any blood'

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G

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Link.

Oliva, now six months, was born completely white because she had such a low count of haemoglobin- the chemical which carries oxygen in red blood cells - that it could not officially be classed as 'blood'.

She was given less than two hours to live but survived thanks to emergency transfusions which transformed her into a glowing healthy pink colour.

Mother Louise Bearman, 31, a barrister's clerk, told of her shock at giving birth to a "ghost white" baby whose condition was so rare she will now feature in medical text books.

She said: "Olivia was my first baby, so I didn't really know what to expect - but I certainly didn't think she'd be that colour.

"I'll never forget what the doctors notes said - 'white and floppy'.

"There were some complications before the birth, which was incredibly scarry.

"Then when Olivia came out so white we didn't know what was going on.

"It was such a relief when the doctors explained what was happening, and it was quite amazing when they put the blood in her and she slowly turned this amazing pink colour.

"She's such a lovely baby, it means everything having her at home now."

Louise and her greengrocer partner Paul Norton, 36, of Witham, Essex, first noticed something was wrong when they didn't feel Olivia kicking for three days.

They went to Broomfield Hospital, in Chelmsford, and when nurses failed to spot any movement after a 15 minute scan doctors ordered an emergency caesarean.

Olivia was born six weeks early at 8.20pm on Saturday September 10, weighing 5lbs 3oz with her heartbeat dipping dangerously low.

Haemoglobin is the protein which gives blood its characteristic red colour and ability to carry oxygen around the body.

When Olivia was born she had haemoglobin levels of just three out of a normal level of 18, which meant the plasma in her blood could not be classified as proper blood.

The newborn was rushed to the hospital's special care baby unit where she was monitored for two weeks and had her strength and colour restored with two blood transfusions.

Neonatal nurse Sharon Pilgrim, yesterday (Mon) said in 20 years in the job she had never heard of such low haemoglobin levels.

She said: "It was a miracle she survived. She was incredibly pale when born and had difficulties breathing.

"There was no sign of blood loss prior to the caesarean or during the operation.

"It was only when we carried out further tests on Louise that we discovered the baby had lost blood directly into her mum's blood circulation."

Louise added: "The hospital staff were amazing and called Olivia the 'miracle baby' and said if I hadn't come in she would not have survived.

"Doctors still don't know why it happened, it is one of those freak things.

"I want mums to realise how important a baby's movement is in checking they are healthy. You have to trust your maternal instinct."
Click to expand...

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Mock if old.
 
S

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
The chances of nature, and humanity's ability to overcome certain challenges, constantly astounds me.
 
A

Askani

Member
Wow. And she looks great in that picture. I'm wondering if she will have any mental or physical problems. How could she have developed, well...anything normally with such low hemoglobin/oxygen levels for so long in gestation?
 
S

Sohter.Nura

Member
I'm really happy that she survived. I don't know what my life would be like if I had found my son had only two hours to live. I love him too much to even think about it!
 
S

Sohter.Nura

Member
Askani said:
Wow. And she looks great in that picture. I'm wondering if she will have any mental or physical problems. How could she have developed, well...anything normally with such low hemoglobin/oxygen levels for so long in gestation?
Click to expand...

It seems like the baby was developing fine up to a certain point. It's mentioned in the article that at some point they didn't feel the baby kick for three days, which is probably when it start hemorrhaging blood inside the womb, and they managed to save it in time.
 
S

SRG01

Member
Wait, if her fetal blood mixed with her mom's blood, wouldn't the mom's immune system go completely nuts and attack everything? I'm surprised that the mom's even alive.
 
W

WrenchNinja

Member
Interesting. Glad the transfusions worked. Hopefully there arent any side effects due to the period where her count was low.
 
A

akira28

Member
I would have to guess that the pictures shown don't show her condition pre-tranfusion. She looks pretty normal in both pictures.
 
Keylime

Keylime

ÏÎ¯Î»Ï á¼Î¾ÎµÏÎγλοÏÏον καί ÏεÏδολÏγον οá½Îº εἰÏÏν
I don't know why, but I immediately assumed that the family in this story was going to be devoutly religious. I kept skimming the article for references and they never showed up.

I bet they are...but the only evidence is the "miracle baby" part at the end. For some reason I see "really white" and translate that to "religious...probably mormon"...

...I don't know why I'm saying all of this because clearly I have no justification to back any of this up and this story is about a medical complication that could have happened to anyone.

...but there it is.
 
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