A bit of homework and a mother’s intuition are the reasons Holly and Stephen Hodgson can watch their tiny newborn son Teddy grow up.
At Holly’s 12 week scan, the couple learned their first baby was suffering with gastroschisis, a condition where the internal organs grow outside the body through a hole in the stomach.
“The radiologist said it would be fine but then when I went to see my doctor he told me that I should terminate because he had only seen three other cases who all terminated,” Holly told Kidspot.
If Holly had listened to the advice of her obstetrician, the Hodgson's story would have read very differently.
“Luckily, I did a lot of research over the weekend and said that I wanted a second opinion," she told the publication.
Holly discovered over 90 per cent of babies with the condition survive pregnancy, and upon getting a second opinion she opted against termination.
Holly is now mum to a happy, bouncing seven-month-old baby boy Teddy, who was born prematurely on December 14 last year - with his large and small intestines protruding outside his body.
Teddy's tiny torso was wrapped with cling wrap and he was placed in a silo bag for 13 days while doctors waited for his stomach to grow large enough to fit his organs.
“Not being able to hold him when all of the parents around us could hold their babies was pretty awful." Holly told the publication.
"I just kept say ‘it will happen eventually, eventually…’”