For Rachel and Jeff Whitchurch, their baby was the greatest miracle as he was born 39 days AFTER his mother's water broke. The now six-month-old baby boy named Gideon gave his parents a fright after Rachel's water broke 28 weeks into her pregnancy.
Doctors hoped that the infant would stay in the womb for another two days to allow his lungs to develop more, but instead he gave them the surprise of a lifetime.
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The Utah couple, had been trying for the past five years to get pregnant with their second child, but miscarriage after miscarriage, they were almost ready to give up. Then came Gideon, who at 28 weeks was ready to be delivered, but the preterm labor definitely put him at high risk.
Doctors wanted Gideon to stay in the womb for another 48 hours with the help of steroids to build up his lungs. They warned the Whitchurches that the chances of the baby staying put were for 10 more days. Little to their knowledge, Gideon decided it wasn't time for him to come out, and stayed put for another five weeks!
By his mother staying in the hospital and being monitored closely, she kept him safe from going through the experiments and being poked and prodded by needles. In fact, doctors say Rachel is in the group of the five percent of women who could hold a baby in the womb for that long after her water broke. It's miraculous that Gideon not only survived being in the womb in this state for so long, but he also came out healthy even though he was at high risk of getting an infection*.*
I'm so glad this family got to see their baby boy be delivered healthy and thriving. I'm sure this would have scared any other woman, but Rachel put on a brave face and did what she thought was best for her son. That's the makings of a wonderful mother acting on her instincts and looking out for her child. I'm sure Gideon is going to love to hear this story when he's older and learning just how special he truly is.
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