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Canterbury mum Jane Theoff backs stillborn babies campaign

A campaign calling for the registration of stillborn babies younger than 24 weeks is gaining momentum after an emotional TV storyline. It is being backed by a mother who tells Gerry Warren how two tiny gasps of breath 18 years ago saved her baby

Jane Theoff proudly hugs her son Jacob as he celebrates his 18th birthday.

But on February 9, 1999, he was clinging to life by his miniscule fingertips, having been born at just 23 weeks and three days.

Tiny Jacob with mum Jane shortly after his birth
Tiny Jacob with mum Jane shortly after his birth

He weighed just 1lb 6oz and was feared dead before midwives at Kent and Canterbury Hospital saw him take two tiny gasps of air.

It was enough for them to try and keep him alive – a battle that was to last many months.

But Jane says that had he not taken those breaths he would have been considered a miscarriage and, because he was born before 24 weeks, the birth not recorded.

“It would have been like he never existed as far as any official record is concerned,” she said.

“It would have been a terrible omission.

"With the help of the doctors and nurses, Jacob pulled through, but I feel so terribly sad for those parents whose premature babies arrive stillborn before that 24-week time limit.”

The issue has hit headlines in recent weeks following a dramatic storyline in Coronation Street involving Michelle Connor, played by Kym Marsh.

Kym Marsh plays Michelle Connor. Picture: ITV
Kym Marsh plays Michelle Connor. Picture: ITV

In the soap, her character has just discovered that her premature stillborn baby will not be registered.

It has proved emotionally challenging for the actor, who lost her son, Archie, in 2009 after he was born at 21 weeks.

She is now pressing for a change in the law, which states that parents cannot be given a birth certificate if a baby is stillborn before 24 weeks.

Previously, a petition to force a rethink was launched by the charity Remember My Baby, but only got 2,679 signatures of the 100,000 needed to spark a debate in parliament.

Mum-of-three Jane, 43, who lives in Wingham Well, Canterbury, said: “It’s so wrong that babies born before 24 weeks don’t get a birth certificate or resuscitated if they don’t take a breath.

"They just get called a miscarriage, which is awful when you have actually given birth to a perfectly formed baby like I did.

Jacob Gooderham with mum Jane
Jacob Gooderham with mum Jane

“If Jacob hadn’t given two tiny gasps of breath, he would not have been revived.

“But he is living proof that they can make it at 23 weeks and babies should be given the chance, and definitely a birth certificate, even if they don’t pull through.”

Jacob was on a ventilator for three months, underwent a tracheotomy at Great Ormond Street Hospital and spent 11 months in the now-closed special care baby unit at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

After a struggle in his early childhood, he is now a healthy and happy outgoing teenager, although has some special needs as a result of his premature birth.

He hopes to secure a job working outdoors and already helps his stepfather, Les, with his landscape gardening business.

He goes to the Fifth Trust charity scheme at Barham, and Skillnet in Canterbury, where he drums in a band with friends.

Jane Theoff with Jacob, now 18
Jane Theoff with Jacob, now 18

He will celebrate his birthday with his first beer and an Indian buffet at home with friends and family.

Jane, a former nanny, has two daughters with Les – Boe-Willow, three, and two-year-old Summer. But she admits she was scared of falling pregnant again.

She said: “It frightened me for a long time because of what happened with Jacob.

"I went into labour so prematurely but fortunately I had normal pregnancies with my daughters.

“I just hope the campaign leads to a change of heart by the government and they will look again at the law so that every baby born before 24 weeks gets a birth certificate and there is a formal record of their existence.”

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