Mothers are frequently praised for their ability to know what is best for their children. Surprisingly, a mother demonstrated a real-life version of this famous statement by taking corrective action at precisely the appropriate time to save the life of her baby boy.

Kate and David Ogg, from Queensland, Australia, had been trying for three years to have a baby.  They found out they were going to be parents to twins – a boy and a girl – in 2010.

An unpredictable turn

The Oggs were pleased and eager to begin their new life as parents. When Kate was taken to a hospital six months into her pregnancy, everything took an unexpected turn. It turned out to be a case of premature births.

The Oggs welcomed their son Jamie on March 25, 2010, and her sister Emily arrived two minutes later. Jamie made no sound as the twins were born in their amniotic sac, but Emily screamed out a loud cry.

What was supposed to be a happy time for Kate and David turned out to be quite the opposite. Given the atmosphere in the room, the couple could tell something wasn’t right with their baby boy.

The unexpected and sad news

The newborn, it found out, wasn’t breathing and didn’t have a heartbeat. The physicians attempted to resuscitate his heart for 20 minutes. The doctor then approached Kate in her hospital bed and questioned if she and her husband had settled on a name for their child.

He then informed them that despite their best efforts, the medical team had failed to preserve their son’s life. For both the Oggs and the hospital personnel, what happened next was nothing short of a miracle.

‘I wanted to saw him, hug him, and get to know him.’ We wanted him to know who his parents were and that we loved him before he died if he was on his path out of the world.’

The first-time mother then went to her husband and requested that he remove his shirt and lie in bed with her so that they could cuddle their son together. Jamie was unwrapped and put across Kate’s bare breast, with David joining in for a warm embrace.

Something unexpected happened soon after, which surprised the Oggs. Jamie exhaled deeply and gradually opened his eyes. He began clutching his father’s fingers after that. The couple couldn’t believe what they’d seen. Kate said to the Daily Mail:

‘We were attempting to persuade him to stay. We told him his name and that he had a twin to watch out for, as well as how hard we had tried to have him.’

The Oggs then called the doctors, who at first refused to return and then assured the couple that what they were feeling was simply a baby reflex. The first-time parents admitted that if they had let the doctors remove Jamie, he would not have survived.

Kate had given Little Jamie ‘kangaroo care,’ as Australians call it. Kate made her baby feel warm through skin-to-skin contact, which helped to restart his heartbeat.

Despite being at risk of developing cerebral palsy as a result of his traumatic birth experience, Jamie is now an adult with no severe medical difficulties. Jamie and Emily have also heard about the miraculous birth from the Oggs.

Emily and Jamie have a younger brother named Charlie, who loves to tell people that his elder siblings were born underweight and that Jamie was originally dead but is now alive.

Kate and David have also created Jamie’s Gift, an internet platform dedicated to raising money for the Miracle Babies Foundation, which supports preterm and unwell newborns.

We’re delighted Kate and David Ogg followed their parental instincts and had such a wonderful experience. We wish they have many more happy years with their gorgeous children.