Kate Ogg was not the first mother to believe she knew her child better than the doctor who delivered him.
Little did she know however that her natural instinct and quick thinking would bring her newborn son back from the brink of death when the medics had given up hope.
After three years of trying for a baby, Kate and David Ogg discovered they were expecting twins.
The picture perfect future the couple had always dreamed of was beginning to take shape until they hit a bump in the road and Kate went into labour early, delivering the twins at 26 weeks.
As the couple excitedly waited to find out the sex of their new babies, they noticed the dynamic in the room begin to change.
“The doctor turned and said, have you chosen a name for your son?’ And we said, yeah, his name is Jamie. Then he just sat on the edge of the bed and said ‘Jamie didn’t make it. We’ve lost him.”
Devastated, the couple looked at each other in horror, but Kate instinctively knew she had to act fast. Grabbing the baby from the doctor she unwrapped the blankets covering his little body and placed him on her chest. The desperate mum ordered her husband to do the same to give their baby as much body heat as possible.
“He was cold,” said Kate. “And I wanted him to be warm and alive.”
Between tears, the couple spoke to their son about his twin sister Emily, describing all their extended family and the plans they had for his life.
Then, something incredible happened.
“He started to move.” said Kate.
The new parents called for the midwives to come back, explaining that the baby was moving and breathing, only to be told he was dying and to say goodbye.
Minutes later, Jamie reached out and grabbed his Daddy’s finger. From that moment on, he began to thrive, with both parents offering as much skin-on-skin time as possible.
Soon he was well enough to join his sister…
…and one year later, the twins welcomed a baby brother, Charlie.
Five years on, all three are the picture of health, but, as they explained to Johnson’s Baby in this touching video, Kate and David know how close they came to a very different outcome.
“We didn’t stop touching them from the moment we got them home.” said Kate. “Skin-on-skin contact, it’s what had saved his life.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPnpSaFtBaA&t=183
