Christmas Day baby: Portsmouth couple welcome "little miracle" 11 weeks early at Queen Alexandra Hospital

Stephanie Lorrabaquio, of Eastney, gave birth to her daughter, Millie Lauren Richardson, on Monday, December 25 at 25 weeks and three days, weighing 720g. Stephanie and her partner David Richardson knew the baby would come early, however Christmas Day was was a lot sooner than expected.

Stephanie said: “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, we knew there was a chance it was going to be early but not this early. I was thinking it would be late January or February but it was on December 23 when I started to get contractions. We managed to delay it a day and half so she could have all the things she needed for when she was born. The contractions started again about 11pm on Christmas Eve and then she was born at 3am in the morning. She is our little miracle, she is lovely.”

While it was a stressful situation, the midwives assured them throughout the birth that Millie was doing well. "They said she is really strong and she was chilled as anything, they checked her heartbeat as she was being born and it stayed the same which was really important as they didn’t want her to be in distress,” Stephanie said.

“They said it was unlikely that you would hear them cry when they are that little but she did a little cry a few minutes after she was born and it was the loveliest noise. She’s still wriggling lots like she did in my belly so she is doing amazingly well, I couldn’t really ask for more considering the circumstances, she is a little blessing.”

Millie is currently being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit and Stephanie wanted to thank the staff at QA. She said: “The staff were just incredible. Lauren, who was our midwife during the night, she’s been a midwife for a year and it was her first Christmas baby and her youngest baby, she just helped us so much. We are just so lucky that she is here and she is ok.”

The couple chose to give Millie the middle name Lauren, in honour of their midwife.