PARENTS of a baby girl born three months early – weighing just 2lbs 15oz – have thanked amazing hospital staff who saved her life.

Alexia-Rose was delivered by emergency caesarean section at Colchester General Hospital.

Doctors warned parents Emily and Toby Sinclair she might not survive and told them to choose a name on the operating table – so they did after their midwife.

Emily, 31, of Martello Bay, Clacton, said: “Everytime I contracted her heartbeat stopped.

“We prepared ourselves for her not coming home with us.”

Everything seemed to be fine during Emily’s pregnancy, but she suddenly went into labour at 28 weeks.

She had taken her gran to Colchester Hospital on the morning on June 7 last year, and suffered a few stomach pains.

Her mum said it was probably practice contractions, known as Braxton Hicks.

But by the time she got home, her waters had broken.

“She said: “I phoned my mum and told her to take me back to the hospital.”

Staff put Emily on a monitor and warned her baby might not live. If she did, they warned, she was likely to have a number of challenging health conditions.

Within two hours of being admitted, Emily was taken into theatre for a caesarean.

Alexia-Rose was put in intensive care. Her weight dropped 9ozs to 2lbs 4ozs.

She spent two months in the hospital’s special care baby unit, where she got stronger and put on weight before being allowed home.

Even then, she had several episodes where she stopped breathing and needed careful monitoring.

But Alexia-Rose was strong enough to make it to her parents’ wedding on December 23 last year.

She is in good health but has difficulty lifting her arms, which needs to be assessed by doctors.

Emily said: “If I’d had her naturally she’d have died, for sure.

“The amazing consultant was a genuinely lovely person who saved our daughter’s life.

“We can’t thank the medics enough. They were fantastic to me, Toby and in the start they gave to our baby.”

She also thanked consultants Dr Maerouf Malik and Dr Aravind Shastri, who looked after Alexia-Rose while she was in intensive care.

! Toby is taking part in a charity bike ride to raise money for the Colchester Hospitals Charity.

Toby, 27, will be joined by old school friends to ride 75 miles for the Age UK Essex Castle Bike Ride, starting from Colchester’s Castle Park on Saturday, July 26.

The entry fee for the event goes to Age UK, but the pals have chosen to gather sponsorship for the hospital.

Stefan Butcher, 25, from Brightlingsea, Mike Parr, 28, from Wivenhoe, Dave Ward, 34, from Lawford, John Hastings, 24, from Wivenhoe and Chris Hastings, 28, from Hampshire, are also taking part.

To sponsor the team at justgiving.com/alexiarose