Monmouthshire parents who were told their baby was unlikely to ever walk or talk have shared the remarkable story of their flourishing daughter and how they’re helping other families with premature children.

In honour of World Prematurity Day, Monday November 17, Phillippa and Aaron Reeks, of Caldicot, have spoken about their miracle daughter, Darcy, who spent 11 days on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) back in 2017 after she was born six weeks early and suffered a number of complications from birth.

Arriving via semi-planned c-section at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Darcy had to be resuscitated at birth for six minutes and suffered a neonatal stroke, meaning she lost all use of her left side and was sent to the NICU.

“We were told she might not make it, as she was only 6lbs at 6 weeks old – she was the smallest baby they’d ever operated on,” Phillippa said.

“Looking back now, I don’t really know how we got through it. It was a constant battle between her health and mine,” said Phillippa.

Meanwhile, Phillippa had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which meant she couldn’t meet her newborn daughter for 8 hours because she was too poorly.

Husband, Aaron, along with their then-10-year-old son, Dylan, spent the subsequent weeks travelling daily to the hospital to visit both girls.

Though both mum and baby were finally well enough to return home, Darcy sadly experienced further complications, requiring an operation at just six weeks old.

Having exceeded her doctors’ expectations, Darcy, now eight years old, is completely thriving – walking independently, speaking perfectly, and attending a mainstream school.

“A lot of mums that I speak to say that if you’ve had a NICU baby, they are a different level of sass. Because they’ve always had to fight, they have that built within them. Darcy’s been through so much,” Phillippa said.

Phillippa and Aaron had sadly experienced eight losses prior to Darcy’s arrival, which included the late foetal loss of their son, Mason, at 23 weeks 5 days.

But they have channelled their traumatic experiences into helping other families of premature babies, establishing a safe, supportive community space in the heart of Caldicot, which includes a shop for premature baby clothes, a well-being and soft play area, and a baby bank that provides free supplies to families in need.

“When Darcy was born, I couldn’t find anything small enough to fit her, so I spent ages altering the smallest dress I could find,” the parents said.

“From there, I started making clothes for her. I wanted her to look normal, so I wanted to be able to put her in frilly dresses and socks. Because of that, I specialise in affordable premature baby clothes so that everyone has an outfit to bring their babies home in.”

The baby bank, which has already helped more than 100 families so far by providing free milk, nappies and wipes, relies heavily on donations from local people and is open to anyone in need of a helping hand with baby supplies.