A quick-thinking mother from Johannesburg in South Africa has saved her premature baby’s life by administering CPR.
Little Britney was born at 26 weeks and 3 days, weighing just 700 grams.
When she refused her bottle and started to turn pale, her mother, Portia Marcus, immediately went into “survival mode” and began performing life-saving CPR to start her breathing again.
Thankfully, Portia had received training on how to perform CPR on babies, albeit 12 years before. But she had a good memory. After a few attempts, the relieved mother heard her baby’s crying once more.
Britney was taken to the paediatric intensive care unit at Tygerberg Hospital, where doctors were surprised at how calm Portia was.
She said: “The doctors kept asking me if I was fine or needed anything to drink, but I was not in any shock.
“This was very traumatic, but thankfully, I managed to stay calm and do what was needed.”
Although mother and baby were discharged from the hospital after initial treatment, they were subsequently rushed back due to Britney having water on her brain.
Despite this, Portia is confident that her precious baby will be released by the end of the week.
Dr. Kerswill, Tygerberg Hospital’s paediatric registrar, praised the nurses for their excellent care of Britney and other premature babies, and for teaching life-saving interventions such as infant CPR to new mothers.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “We have nothing but immense respect for Portia. Her heroic actions saved baby Britney.
“To correctly perform CPR on such a small human is an amazing feat. The way she dealt with the pressure of this situation is a credit to her character.
“The strength of Britney and her mother is remarkable. Life matters, and we should treasure every child as a gift.”
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