Baby born via emergency C-section to save her and her mother

A baby who was born far earlier than expected at 25 weeks, celebrated her first Christmas after overcoming numerous odds that once seemed overwhelming. 

Key Takeaways:

• Baby Fiadh Coburn was born at 25 weeks due to complications with the placenta that was causing a major bleed.

• Her mother, Marie Louise, had been in the hospital being monitored for five weeks before an emergency C-section was carried out to save both mother and child.

• The story proves that induced abortion — the direct killing of preborn children — is not medically necessary, even when the mother's health or life is in danger.

The Details:

Fiadh Coburn weighed only 1 pound, 12 ounces when she was born on April 9 via emergency C-section after her mother, Marie Louise Coburn, experienced a major bleed caused by an abrupt placenta detachment.

Notably, the baby’s mother, a GP from East Belfast, had already spent five weeks in the hospital at that stage due to pregnancy complications. Recalling her ordeal, Marie Louise explained: 

I was haemorrhaging so much that we were at risk of losing her and it wasn’t sustainable blood loss for me either. So, [the C-section] was to save both of us really that she had to be delivered that night.

She added, “Fiadh was almost see-through when she was born, and she just had to stay in an incubator with minimal handling. They advise you to barely touch them within the first week, because the risk of brain haemorrhage is so high. But, you know, as time went by, she did get stronger, she got bigger."

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Fiadh remained in the hospital for three months, as doctors meticulously treated her and kept close tabs on her growth. On July 21, a date that happened to be her initial due date, Fiadh was discharged to be with her family at home, where she continues to prevail despite health challenges.

Marie Louise, who refers to Fiadh as her “little miracle," said, “When we were looking for names I was looking at names that meant things like warrior, because I knew she was going to have to be a fighter. We came across Fiadh, which means ‘wild’ in Irish, and I thought that was just perfect. In the hospital they kept saying she’s a fighter and is so feisty, that she doesn’t want to wear her mask and things like that. So she is feisty and that has stood her in good stead.”

Likewise, Marie Louise’s husband said, “It was an incredibly difficult time when Marie Louise became unwell. At the time, I was working in Glasgow, so I had to rush home and quickly adjust to being here full-time. It was very worrying for us, but both Fiadh and Marie Louise have come through everything remarkably well, and we couldn’t be prouder of them.” 

Is abortion ever necessary to “save the life of the mother”?

During this challenging time, the Coburn family received continuous support from the charity TinyLife, which provides vital services for premature babies and their parents. A dedicated TinyLife support worker aided them during Fiadh’s stint in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), while another visits their home regularly to track her developmental progress.

Marie Louise also gained valuable comfort and community from TinyLife’s mum groups and baby massage sessions during Fiadh’s early months.

“If you go to regular mum groups, people sometimes really don’t know what to say to you whenever you say ‘oh, she was born at 25 weeks and she was in NICU for three-and-a-half months’,” Marie Louise stated. 

“People get a bit shocked and they don’t know what to say, whereas in these TinyLife groups everyone has their own backstory, everyone’s been through trauma, and we all are able to support each other. And there’s something in that sort of shared trauma with each other that is just really helpful for all of us in kind of processing it and getting through it. So it’s been a wonderful, wonderful help for us.”

Marie Louise looks back on her daughter's birth as a “memory of a difficult time."

“At the time, that is how I got through things. I had to keep reminding myself that next year, or later on this year, this exact moment will be a memory of a difficult time. And whenever I was sitting in hospital, you know, 19 weeks, 20 weeks, not sure if I was going to be able to have a baby at the end of this at all, I had to remind myself, no matter what, this turmoil, this feeling will be a difficult memory, and that’s what it is now. It’s a difficult memory, and it very much feels like it’s in the past, which is great. We’ve been able to move through that. I think it’s important to feel the emotions at the time, to accept that you’re going through something traumatic, and to just feel how difficult it is, rather than pretend everything’s okay,” she said, according to the Irish Mirror. 

Why It Matters:

Fiadh’s story is a potent reminder of the value of every human life, including the most vulnerable among us. It proves that induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of preborn children — is not necessary when the mother's life is at risk. It demonstrates how proper medical care, parental resilience, and a reassuring community can safeguard vulnerable human life. Fiadh’s resilience to live, as well as the dedication of the medical staff who treated her, also points to how not giving up on seemingly insurmountable odds of living can lead to miraculous outcomes.