Baby with half a heart survives after mum defied doctors' advice over abortion

A baby beat the odds to survive even after doctors advised that it would be best to abort her because she was discovered to have just half a heart.
Lisa Ambler, 32, says she was repeatedly told to terminate her pregnancy after unborn daughter Lacey-Janet was discovered to have an issue with her heart. But Lisa, who has cysts on her ovaries which make it difficult to conceive, was determined to go ahead.

Almost immediately after the baby was born, she stopped breathing in her mother's arms and had an eight-hour operation within the first two weeks. Baby Lacey-Janet had a rare condition where the left lower pumping chamber of the heart does not develop properly. Fortunately, she pulled through and will now be able to lead as normal a life as possible.

Lisa said: "It amazes me how she even made it through the pregnancy. When we were told about the problems with Lacey-Janet’s heart we were told to abort but for me it was all a big dream. They kept saying that she wasn’t going to live long but we were never going to abort her."
Lisa, who lives in Hull with husband Michael, added: "She will need heart care for the rest of her life. But after seeing what she has already been through as a tiny baby I am confident she is only going to get stronger."