Do you believe in miracles? One family in the UK does.

The Morgan family from Kent in the United Kingdom experienced a medical miracle 15-months-ago, when mom Katy Morgan, 36, woke up at 37-and-1/2 weeks pregnant covered in blood. She was rushed to the hospital and gave birth via emergency C-section to a 6 lb. 1 oz baby boy – who had no heartbeat and no blood in his body.

You read that right. Baby Oliver Morgan was born without a drop of blood in his little body. All that blood that Katy woke up in was her baby’s blood.

Oliver was born pale and looked like a stillborn. Doctors could not find his little heartbeat for 25 minutes. What is amazing that his doctors refused to give up! To save his life, the medical team gave Oliver a gentle heart massage and a blood transfusion through the still-attached umbilical cord. The medics cried tears of joy when his heart monitor gave the first beep.

The doctors and medical team literally brought this baby back to life. Oliver almost bled to death due to a rare medical condition called vasa previa, which formed an extra vein in Katy Morgan’s uterus. The vein burst – which is why Katy woke up covered in all that blood.

What is Vasa Previa?

Vasa previa is extremely rare, and it occurs 1 in every 2,500 births. This condition occurs when the baby’s blood vessels from the umbilical cord or placenta crosses the entrance of the birth canal, situated beneath the developing baby. These blood vessels are unsupported by the placenta and umbilical cord, so they just sit there.

When left undetected (like in Oliver’s case), there is a fetal mortality (death) rate of 50 to 95 percent, due to the blood vessels getting pinched or compressed when the cervix dilates during labor, or when the mother’s water breaks. When these exposed vessels burst or tear, the unborn baby can lose half or all of his or her blood supply within minutes. That’s why the fetal mortality rate is so high.

Baby Oliver is Now a Healthy 15-Month Toddler 

Fortunately, in baby Oliver Morgan’s case, he was saved. After the blood transfusion, his heartbeat got stronger and stronger with more blood. Luckily for his mom, she was under anesthesia and completely unaware of what was happening. She didn’t learn about the story until after her baby had been saved! (Lucky for her!)

After the medical team saved Oliver’s life, he was taken to an intensive care unit, where doctors purposely lowered his body temperature to try to save his brain from any brain damage. (There were huge fears that he would have brain damage due to being deprived of oxygen for such a long time). The baby was placed in a coat that chilled him to lower his body temperature. The purpose was to cause his blood flow to move away from his skin and towards his brain and heart.

In the first few days after birth, Oliver’s mom was pumping breast milk, which was being pumped directly to his stomach. (As many of you should know, breast milk is full of helpful immune-strengthening antibodies.)

Miraculously, after all this, baby Oliver was able to go home with his parents after 11 days in the hospital.

What makes this story even more miraculous, and a little funny, is that Oliver’s mom had been told that she was expecting a baby girl. She had several ultrasounds during the course of her pregnancy, which indicated that she was having a little girl.

Baby Oliver is now a healthy and happy 15-month-old boy, and his parents couldn’t be more happier with their miracle baby!

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Read more about this amazing story and see photos of Oliver on the Sun’s website.

Story Updated: January 27, 2012
Photo Credit: thesun.co.uk via DoanPhuong on Pinterest