Posted on Sep 18, 2009 | by Staff

WASHINGTON (BP)--A young British mother says her prematurely born son was left to die last October by doctors because he fell two days short of the minimum requirement for care.

Sarah Capewell's son, Jayden, was born 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy, but physicians said he needed to be at 22 weeks gestation in order to be treated, she told The Daily Mail in a Sept. 9 article. He lived for nearly two hours without medical assistance. She is seeking a review of the guidelines followed by National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in such cases.

Jayden, who was born at an NHS hospital in Norfolk, was breathing without help, had a strong heart rate and was moving his arms and legs after his birth, said Capewell, 23.

She told The Daily Mail she pleaded with a pediatrician, saying, "You have got to help." The doctor said, "No we don't"

While she was having contractions, a chaplain visited her to make plans for a funeral for her yet-to-be-born son, Capewell said. "I was sitting there, reading this leaflet about planning a funeral and thinking, this is my baby, he isn't even born yet, let alone dead," she said, according to the newspaper.
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Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.