Editor’s note. We ran this story previously but a couple of pro-life sites picked up on the story of Maddalene Douse in the aftermath of the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It is such a powerful story on so many different levels, I thought you might enjoy reading (or re-reading) it.
Sometimes the phrase “miracle baby” exaggerates how fortunate a baby is to be alive. Not in the case of Maddalena Douse, who was born at 23 weeks.
Nicole Fabian-Weber, of the Daily Mail, writes that Maddalena is the youngest preemie to survive in the U.K. Miracle enough, right? Check this out.
“See, current guidelines in England don’t suggest providing active care for babies born 22 weeks and 6 days or before,” Fabian-Weber writes. “But when they put Maddalena on the scale, and realized that she weighed 1 pound — the minimum weight for a baby to be considered ‘viable’ — they fought to keep her alive.”
Only the baby didn’t weigh 1 pound. Maddalena only seemed to weigh that much because a pair of scissors had accidentally been left on the scale! The doctors at Royal Sussex Hospital did not discover their “error,” the Sun’s Jane Atkinson reported, until she was safely on the ventilator.
As wonderful as this miracle was for Kate Douse and her husband, Renato, unfortunately, the baby’s twin sister, Isabella, died a few weeks after the girls were born.
All indications are that Maddalena will grow up healthy. “She now weighs 5½lbs and is getting stronger by the day,” Kate Douse told the Atkinson. “She’s our little miracle and we’re so glad to have her home in time for Christmas.”
Mrs. Douse added, “We never thought we’d ever bring Maddalena home.”
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
