Premature baby to be brought home to Wales from Vietnam

A couple whose baby was born three months early in Vietnam have raised the money needed to bring her back to Wales.

Jessica Jones and Alfredo Duenas's daughter Aurelia was born by emergency Caesarean section in Hanoi in October.

Aurelia, who weighed 2lb 1oz (970g), could not breathe unaided, has under-developed organs and a heart defect.

Ms Jones, 36, from Borth-y-Gest, Gwynedd, said she was "overwhelmed" at £15,000 being raised so quickly.

"Donations from friends, family, and strangers have ensured that we are able to bring Aurelia home as soon as she is ready," she said.

"We are aiming for [to return] mid February. Once back, we will get her checked out at her local GP and referred on to the right medical centres that can provide her with the care that she needs."

Ms Jones works as a teacher in Vietnam, where she has been living with her Mexican husband for a year and a half.

Her waters broke at 05:00 on 10 October and she had Aurelia by 11:00 at just 27 weeks.

She said doctors told her there was a 5% chance her baby would survive if she had a Caesarean section and 2% or 3% if she had a natural birth.

Among her other health problems, Aurelia also has retinopathy of prematurity - which can lead to blindness - and needs reconstructive surgery on her nose because her septum has been eroded by tubes providing air.

She spent spent two and a half months in hospital before being discharged on Christmas Eve.

Ms Jones said Aurelia needed to have surgery on her nose now to prevent further damage and to give surgeons the best chance of reconstructing her septum in the future.

"Working on premature babies and such small craniofacial surgery of that magnitude is incredibly specialised and that just makes you appreciate so much what the NHS does and offers," she said.

"The care and treatment that babies and children receive is second to none, and unfortunately living here it means she is suffering and is not able to have access to a higher standard of treatment."

She added: "She needs extra help and care and unfortunately it isn't here for her."