Mother with kidney failure who was told to abort her child defies doctors and has a healthy baby girl

• Grace Anslow, 19, conceived Ava during treatment for kidney failure
• She was advised to have an abortion because pregnancy could kill her
• Decided to continue with pregnancy and Ava was born healthy in April
• Grace was diagnosed with kidney failure after developing bruises on legs
• Had dialysis for 4 hours a day, 6 days a week during the pregnancy

A miracle baby has been born despite her mother suffering from kidney failure which should have made her infertile.
Ava Anslow’s mother, Grace, fell pregnant while she was being treated for end-stage kidney failure.
The condition meant she should not have been able to conceive and, left unchecked, could have killed her within six weeks.

Grace Anslow, 19, became pregnant with Ava while she was being treated for end-stage kidney failure which would have killed her within weeks without treatment

The 19-year-old was told to end her pregnancy or risk dying along with her child - but she refused.
The story had a happy ending when Ava was born, weighing a healthy 6lbs 7oz, in April.
‘She's my little miracle,’ said single mother Grace, a former hotel worker from Birmingham.

 

‘When I look at her I can hardly believe what we have both been through.
‘I was advised to terminate her because doctors thought there was a chance the pregnancy would kill me because of the risk of pre-eclampsia.
‘And, if I survived, there was a high chance she would be born very premature for the same reason. That, too, may have led to complications with her health and she may not have survived.

Doctors advised Grace to have Ava aborted because they feared that the pregnancy could kill her. Pregnant women with kidney problems have a high rate of the potentially fatal complication pre-eclampsia

‘When I told the consultants I was pregnant, they said it was very unexpected.
‘People told me: “Don't give your baby a nickname and don't get attached” as not many people have got pregnant while in my condition.’
Forced to choose between risking her own life and giving her unborn child a chance of survival, Grace said there was only one decision she could make.
‘It was all really upsetting and I was very depressed about it all,’ she said.
‘I had to think long and hard about what to do. Eventually, I picked myself up and decided to go ahead with the pregnancy.
‘I thought it would be the best thing that had ever happened in my life if it worked out.
‘The baby would give me a reason to live.’
Grace discovered she had kidney problem just two months before she found herself pregnant.

Grace decided to continue with the pregnancy and Ava was born weighing a healthy 6lbs 7oz, in April. She is believed to be entirely healthy despite her precarious start in life

She had ignored small bruises all over her legs for two months, thinking they were the result of an allergic reaction.
She finally decided to see her GP last July - and blood test results revealed her life was in serious danger.
‘The doctor called me in and told me to go straight to City Hospital as he thought it was something to do with my kidneys,’ Grace said.
‘It was a big shock. I thought I was going to die and it was very scary.’
But the diagnosis started to make sense.
Grace explained: ‘I have been really pale and tired throughout my life and I used to sleep a lot.
‘But lately I had become a bit more tired and dizzy at times.

Grace was diagnosed with kidney failure after developing bruises all over her legs. She had previously experienced tiredness and was very pale but had not realised that she was seriously ill

‘I thought it was just me feeling lazy. I didn't really know anything different. But the bruises were strange and that was the reason I went to the doctors.’
Grace was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston and, there, was told about her condition.
‘I was told there was a really big build-up of toxic waste in my body and I would have died had I left it six weeks.’
She was put on dialysis and the transplant list.
Grace said: ‘I had to leave my job as it was tiring. I would go to dialysis at the hospital and try to live my life. I discovered I was expecting in September.
‘I had the shock of my life as I thought, with my condition, I couldn't conceive. The doctors at the QE were pretty shocked, too.’

Throughout the pregnancy, Grace had to have dialysis for four hours, six days a week. It is believed that it was this strict dialysis regime that saved her and Ava

Grace was put on a new dialysis regime, having treatment six days a week instead of the normal three, which was thought to have helped Ava's safe arrival.
‘Every week I went for a scan and each time I was told she was developing nicely,’ she said. ‘That changed to every two weeks and again, the scans was positive. Each time I went along my heart was in my mouth. I was worried sick, wondering whether she would be OK.
‘I didn't want to get my hopes up. It was a week-by-week thing and there was a chance I could have miscarried at any point.’
But, slowly, Grace - who is still undergoing dialysis - began to experience the milestones every mum-to-be dreams of.
‘I started to feel her moving inside me and it was lovely when I felt her first kick,’ she said.
‘But I was terrified the whole way through.’

Because the pregnancy was so high-risk, Grace had to have a scan every week until it was confirmed that Ava was developing normally

Finally, on April 17, just a fortnight before her due date, Ava was delivered by caesarean section and declared a healthy baby.
‘When I held her in my arms it was the best thing ever,’ Grace said. ‘And to know there was nothing wrong was even better.
‘They told me she was perfectly healthy.’
The doctor who led Grace's treatment said it was ‘remarkable’ that she fell pregnant while so ill.
Dr Clara Day, kidney consultant at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said: ‘There is a very high rate of pre-eclampsia in kidney disease patients, which will often lead to premature birth.
‘If pre-eclampsia is particularly bad, the mother can die. The risks for Grace were very high and we were up front with her about that.
‘We want people to know how much she has been through and highlight the dedication of the nursing team.
‘Grace had to dialyse six days a week for four hours. It was an intense programme which gave her baby the best chance possible.
‘She also had the best antenatal care at Birmingham Women's Hospital. I am delighted with the outcome.’