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Premature baby 'left to die' by doctors after mother gives birth just two days before 22-week care limit
By Graham Smith
Last updated at 5:39 PM on 08th September 2009
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A young mother's premature baby died in her arms after doctors refused to help because it was born just before 22-week cut-off point for treatment.
Sarah Capewell, 23, gave birth to her son Jayden when she was 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy.
Although doctors refused to place the baby in intensive care, Jayden lived for two hours before he passed away at James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, last October.
Sarah Capewell is fighting for new guidelines on when infants should be given intensive care after her premature son Jayden (right) was refused treatment
Miss Capewell's desperate pleas for her tiny son to be admitted to the hospital's special care baby unit were rejected.
She is now fighting to establish radical new guidelines on when infants should be given intensive care and has created a website called Justice For Jayden.
Since the site was set up in January, Miss Capewell has received messages of support from 260,000 women from around the world.
Miss Capewell, of Great Yarmouth, said: 'When I asked about my baby's human rights, the attitude of the doctors seemed to be that he did not have any.
'They said before 22 weeks he was just a foetus.'
Her campaign is being backed by local MP Tony Wright.
He said: 'When a woman wants to give the best chance to her baby they should surely be afforded that opportunity.'
Short life: Miss Capewell's son Jayden died two hours after he was born at James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, in October 2008
Mr Wright has pledged to call for a thorough review of medical guidelines to see if there is a case for changing them.
Miss Capewell, who has a five-year-old daughter, has a history of miscarriages and after bleeding heavily 12 weeks into her pregnancy with Jayden, she was closely monitored by doctors.
She was rushed to hospital by ambulance at 21 weeks and her waters broke at 21 weeks and three days.
She said: 'Because I had not reached 22 weeks, they did not allow me injections to stop the labour or steroid injections to help mature the baby's lungs.'
Miss Capewell was told the baby was likely to be stillborn and as her contractions continued, a chaplain arrived to discuss bereavement and planning a funeral.
'When he was born, he put out his arms and legs and pushed himself over,' said Miss Capewell.
'A midwife said he was breathing and had a strong heartbeat and described him as a "little fighter".
Treasured memories: Pictures of baby Jason's feet and hands
'I kept asking for the doctors but the midwife said, "They won't come and help, sweetie. Make the best of the time you have with him."'
Miss Capewell said she had to argue her right to receive birth and death certificates which meant she could have a proper funeral.
The medical guidance for NHS hospitals, limiting care of the most premature babies, was drawn up by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in 2006.
The guidelines are clear: no baby below 22 weeks gestation should be resuscitated.
The latest major study on survival of premature babies shows that at 23 weeks, just 16 per cent will survive - a statistic which has barely changed in a decade.
But Miss Capewell said: 'After Jayden's death, I looked into other cases and I could not believe that one little girl, Amillia Taylor, is perfectly healthy after being born in Florida in 2006 at 21 weeks and six days - and Jayden was heavier than her.
'There are thousands of women who have experienced this.
'The doctors say the babies won't survive but how do they know if they are not giving them a chance?'
She said she had heard heartbreaking stories of babies who lived as long as five days in such circumstances.
'Women who went through it 10 years ago have phoned me up in tears. You can't get past it because no one tried.
'You feel you let your baby down and you are left with that guilt every single day. You feel you should have got out of that bed, you should have gone to another hospital.
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Last Edited by Revbo on 09/08/2009 03:15 PMTANSTAAFL
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