Imogen struggles with her life and is finally allowed to leave the hospital

Generally, pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks. Rachel Stonehouse’s baby, on the other hand, was born in more than half that time — at just 22 weeks’ gestation. Little Imogen was born in Wales last September and weighed just 515g at birth.

Reading Tip: What a difficult birth! Angerson baby was born weighing more than 7 kg

Doctors predicted that she had only a ten percent chance of survival. But the girl proved to be a real fighter. Despite all medical predictions, she is still alive and going strong six months after birth. After 132 days in hospital, the premature baby has now been allowed to leave the hospital, the BBC reports.

But till then it’s a long way for parent and child. A few days after the baby shower, Rachel Stonehouse’s water broke. The 28-year-old told the BBC: “The pain was terrible. I was in survival mode for myself and my baby. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, the baby was already there – too soon, so the chance of survival was slim.

A test of medical treatments for the little creature. “Every day she was poked and prodded, but I couldn’t forget that it was making her healthy.” Often she thought: “This child should be in my womb, but it is not. The fetus is now my child in front of me, and now I have to trust everyone around me.”

The baby had to spend 98 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. This was followed by another 34 days in a special facility. The girl was struggling with cerebral hemorrhage, a heart murmur and sepsis and needed multiple blood transfusions. But the hard times are worth it and little Imogen is getting better and better. Rachel Stonehouse wants to thank the medical staff who took care of her daughter and fought for her life: “It was the worst time in my life, but the staff and my family were the best. They always trusted my instincts as a mother.”

Note: This article originally appeared on stern.de.