"Gave birth" to her son a few months ago, and will give birth to him again in a few weeks
Ashley and her fiancé discovered that the fetus in her womb was suffering from a congenital defect that would endanger his life.
Although the doctors recommended that she have an abortion, a second opinion from doctors led her to surgery that would repair the damage to the fetus.
That's her story
Walla!
health
23/05/2022
Monday, 23 May 2022, 07:43
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After giving birth to her son Levi James last Wednesday, Jayden Ashley is due to give birth to him for the second time in July.
And if this sounds very strange to you - know that everything is part of a medical plan to save the baby's life.
When the 23-year-old mother-to-be underwent a scan at the 18th week of pregnancy last March, it was found that the fetus in her womb had a spinal defect called a cleft spina bifida - a congenital malformation that develops in fetuses in the first month of pregnancy.
Children with a bifid vessel may suffer from a wide range of functional problems.
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"I was in the market. I could not even speak when the doctor told us that," said Mother Ashley.
Initially, doctors in her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, told her and her fiancée Noah Detrick, 23, that their first child would be born with brain death and would have no chance of leading a quality life.
"I remember saying to myself, 'This is not real, this is not happening,' Ashley said, adding that doctors encouraged her to terminate the pregnancy.
"It was a nightmare," she said.
But after receiving a second and third opinion from experts in Orlando, Ashley learned that there is white hope.
And she underwent relatively rare surgery to repair his spine while she was still pregnant.
@ jaiden.ashlea Reply to @alexxhailey open fetal surgery explained ♥ ️ sorry i look so rough I'm still on the hospital!
#openfetalsurgery #spinabifida #fetalsurgery #LENOVOJUSTBEYOU ♬ original sound - Jaiden Ashlea
Before she was approved for surgery at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Ashley underwent a lot of medical tests - as only a few hundred mothers and their babies are considered to meet the criteria to meet the invasive treatment each year.
About six weeks after the diagnosis she entered the operating room.
The doctors drained her water, made a caesarean section along her abdomen and successfully repaired the defect that had affected the L2 vertebrae in the baby's lower back.
They then repositioned the fetus inside Ashley's abdomen, stitched it up and put it to a strict rest until the baby was developed enough for an actual birth by caesarean section at week 37. The procedure included full anesthesia and took about six hours.
Ashley has now been through about 27 weeks of surgery and she says she has noticed that her baby's health has improved.
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"Since the surgery, the doctors have seen so much more movement and signs of hidden changes in the brain," she said, adding that doctors expect her son to have no walking problems now.
However, he will likely need to undergo physical therapy from birth to at least 18 years of age.
But his progress after the surgery is promising nonetheless. "He kicks his legs, and twists his ankles there. I can feel him moving."
Ashley originally shared her story in a TikTok viral video with the caption: "You gave birth to my baby to be returned and 11 weeks later to be reborn."
The post received more than 2.2 million views.
"I'm excited for him to understand how excited he is, and how much he is loved and special," Ashley said.
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