A MUM who gave birth to her son at 24 weeks as he weighed less than a big bag of sugar has spoken of his battle for life.

Stephanie George from Haslingden has spoken out to raise awareness of premature birth and the devastating impact it can have on families.

The 27-year-old said baby Harry Murdoch arrived early at 24 weeks and five days of pregnancy, weighing just 1lb 14oz, a mere 870g.

Despite his unexpectedly early appearance and fighting numerous health issues, Harry has just celebrated his first birthday.

Stephanie, who lives with partner Lee Murdoch, 30, an engineer, said: “It never even crossed my mind that I would have my baby early.

“We were absolutely delighted when I became pregnant and I loved being pregnant and everything was going smoothly.

“I was going about life as normal and we were making plans for when he was due which wasn’t until March 3.

“I followed every rule of what to do and what not to do in pregnancy and was healthy and the perfect age to have a baby.

“I had absolutely no idea how life would suddenly change.”

On the day Harry was born, the student nurse, had a bleed and became worried and went to Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre based at Burnley General Teaching Hospital.

She went back home to rest and began having pains which she didn’t realise at first were contractions. As the pains became worse, she realised something was wrong and returned to the hospital.

Stephanie said: “By the time I was checked by an obstetrician, I was nine centimetres dilated and it was too late to stop the labour.

“Harry was born an hour after that.”

Stephanie’s waters never broke and Harry was actually born 'en caul' which means he was still encased in the amniotic sac at birth, which is really rare.

Stephanie said: “They say it is good luck and it must have been for Harry.

“When Harry was first born, I feared the worst and was convinced Harry would not make it home.

“When I saw Harry, I felt guilty and wondered why he was in an incubator rather than inside me and asked myself what I had done wrong.

“I loved Harry from the moment I saw him but felt petrified as he was so tiny and vulnerable and I was terrified we would lose him.

“Your only thought is getting to the end of the day with your baby still alive.”

Harry was on a ventilator and experienced all sorts of problems such as bleeds on the brain, meningitis, sepsis, kidney problems and he had to have 10 blood transfusions and a platelet transfusion.

Stephanie said: “At the beginning, every day seemed like another bad day.

“But slowly as our journey in NICU progressed, the good days started outweighing the bad.

“It was a slow process. Harry came off the ventilator after three weeks but then he was on all sorts of other breathing support.”

Harry ended up being nursed in NICU for 112 days until five days after his due date before he was well enough to go home.

He went home on oxygen but is now breathing for himself with no tubes.

Stephanie said: “Over the 16 weeks Harry was in NICU, as he got stronger, we could cuddle him and bond with him.

“Our time in NICU was a rollercoaster but the staff were absolutely amazing.

“It is not just a job to them - they are so dedicated and work really hard to get babies well enough to go home.

“It is hard to put into words how grateful we are."

Harry has now turned one and is thriving.

Stephanie said: “Harry now weighs 19lbs so is 10 times his birth weight.

“He is amazing and is defying all the odds.

“Every cuddle has been that bit tighter, every milestone achieved celebrated that bit harder and everyday together appreciated that bit more.

“Harry is the strongest person we know and we are so much stronger because of him.”

Dr Naharmal Soni, consultant neonatologist at NICU, said: “Babies who are born at 24 weeks of gestation usually have a 50/50 chance of survival.

“The first week is crucial and after that, different babies can have different complications.

“Harry was lucky that the complications he had were to a milder degree than can happen.

“It is lovely to see a happy ending like Harry’s when a baby is born so premature."