She Beat the Odds

Kainat was excited to become a mum. Piyush couldn’t wait to be a dad. But at 20 weeks, an ultrasound showed that their unborn baby daughter’s growth was ‘suboptimal’. The best-case scenario would be to deliver at 30 weeks. Worst-case scenario – stillbirth.

Before Kainat and Piyush could process that information, they were offered a termination.

“It almost felt like a nightmare. We could not believe this was happening to us. The fear of losing our child was unbearable, but we found the strength and decided against the termination.”

When Amairah was born at 29 weeks, weighing 490 grams (1lb 1oz), she was given a 30% chance of survival, with possible severe disabilities. Kainat and Piyush thought premature babies just sleep and grow in an incubator, then go home. They had no idea what a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit journey could be like.

Amairah spent a total of 128 days in NICU at Auckland hospital. Most days, Kainat and Piyush were there from eight in the morning until eight or nine at night. They didn’t get to cuddle Amairah until 12 days after she was born. During this time they were introduced to The Little Miracles Trust.

The Little Miracles Trust works to provide and coordinate support to families of premature or sick full-term babies. They help families make their journeys through neonatal intensive care, the transition home, and onwards.

"At times, as a parent, you need a support person who can just help you mentally. For us, The Little Miracles Trust was a godsend."

One Percent Collective was approached Auckland-based creatives Tim Cotton and Sam Urai. They wanted to help us tell the story of Kainat, Piyush and Amairah’s journey through NICU with help from The Little Miracles Trust.

The short video below is a bit of a tear-jerker, but it's a lovely demonstration of what happens with the dollars that donors give through One Percent Collective.

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