Miracle' baby celebrates her first birthday after her parents were 'advised to get an abortion FIVE times'

A tiny baby that was given a chance of survival of just 15 per cent has defied the odds and celebrated her first birthday.

Parents Jo and Chris Scott said doctors deemed foetal Emie "incompatible with life" and advised the couple "four or five times" to have an abortion.

But they refused and against all odds Emie is growing fit and strong despite weighing less than a bag of sugar, at 1lb 11oz, when she was born.

A year on she has celebrated her first birthday with a trip to the petting zoo and her parents are thankful they didn't terminate the pregnancy.

Mum Jo, a midwife, who lives with IT consultant Chris, 31, and four-year-old daughter Ava, in Swindon, Wiltshire, said: "They were telling me she wasn't going to survive. But whatever they told me, I didn't believe them.

"I felt like my whole world was ending but my gut instinct was telling me she was going to be alright.

"Every time I went to [Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital] they said to me, 'You should have a termination.' It must have been four or five times.

"They told me there was an 85 per cent chance she would die but I said, 'I would rather she died on her own than me let somebody physically kill her."

Despite warnings at her 12 and 20 week scans, Jo and Chris refused to give up and little Emie was born premature but perfectly normal.

The couple were told at the first scan there was a high chance Emie would haveDown's syndrome.

Experts then warned unborn Emie may have the chromosome disorder triploidy at her 20-week scan.

But further scans revealed that both fears were unfounded and Emie's growth was stunted because Jo's placenta was not attached properly.

Jo, a midwife, claims a doctor at John Radcliffe Hospital looked her in the eye and told her: "She will not make it."

He advised her to have an abortion, saying there was "no way" Emie would grow to a viable birth weight.

But Jo could feel her unborn daughter wriggling around in her tummy and she and husband Chris had a gut feeling that it was going to be OK - so they refused.

Emie was delivered via C-section at at Great Western Hospital at just 31 weeks on October 5, 2015, after Jo developed HELLP syndrome, a rare liver and blood clotting disorder.

Emie was put on a ventilator and rushed into intensive care, where she stayed for two-and-a-half months.

Jo, who lost four litres of blood, was rushed into intensive care where she stayed for 36 hours - but both were OK.

The couple were allowed to bring Emie home on December 17.

Jo is angry with the doctors for advising her to have an abortion, but added: "They are the same people who saved my life.

Doctors believe that though Emie will be smaller than other children her age for years to come, they expect that she will be fit, healthy and like any other child.

On Saturday, she donned her prettiest pink dress and had a gathering with the other youngsters who she was in the baby care unit with.

They visited a petting zoo because Emie loves animals.

Jo said: "It was amazing to think that a year ago we didn't know what we whether we would be celebrating or not.

"But she's feisty, she's cheeky, she's independent and she is amazing."