A YOUNG woman with an incredibly rare heart condition has spoken of the risks she took in getting pregnant so she could have the baby she so desperately wanted. 

Robin Howarth was just days old herself when doctors diagnosed a series of heart abnormalities. She was admitted to hospital at one week old and underwent her first open heart surgery - the next of which was to follow after her second birthday. 

At the age of 16, Miss Howarth was warned by doctors about the serious risk to her life if she was to get pregnant but three years later, she discovered she was expecting a baby. 

Sadly, just five weeks after finding out the news which normally fills most young women with excitement and a sense of maternal longing, Miss Howarth was told the "heartbreaking" news that she had little choice but to have a termination. 

"We kept challenging what they were saying - we saw so many different experts to get different opinions but they all said the same thing," she said. 

"It isn't a decision you can make lightly. It was heartbreaking. I was severely depressed after that."

Then in a shock twist, having met her partner Michael Dixon, Miss Howarth last year found out she was once more pregnant. The discovery was bitter-sweet. 

"I was absolutely petrified, and my mum actually turned round and called me stupid," Miss Howarth, now 24, said. 

"The initial tests were much more positive this time but I was so worried throughout the whole pregnancy, making sure I looked after myself to give both me and my baby the best possible chance of surviving. My heart could have stopped at any minute."

In the following months, Miss Howarth spent much of her pregnancy in and out of hospital - both at the antenatal clinic at Furness General Hospital and with cardiac experts in Manchester. 

On the advice of heart specialists, Pippa was delivered at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, just before Miss Howarth reached 37 weeks after they spotted blood flow irregularities in the umbilical cord. 

Pippa weighed 4lb 15oz and, crucially, did not appear to have inherited any congenital heart conditions. 

Miss Howarth, of Fell Croft, Dalton, recalled: "My mum was with me the whole time. I looked at Pippa when they pulled her out and all I can remember is her opening her eyes, looking around and screaming. 

"I held her for two minutes but it didn't even feel like that. I went to the cardiac intensive care unit but I couldn't have Pippa with me, she was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit. It was really hard but my mum was absolutely amazing, I couldn't have done it without her."

Just a week after Pippa's birth, mother and baby were discharged and were finally allowed home. 

Becoming a new mother is incredibly overwhelming for any woman, but Miss Howarth has relished the challenge despite also continuing to deal with her heart condition, which since Pippa's birth has been diagnosed as Shone's Syndrome. She has recently been fitted with a pacemaker, which kick-starts her heart if the beats fall below a certain level. 

"People take it for granted so much, even just being able to do things like washing the baby's clothes before they're born," she said. 

"I used to think to myself, why do people whinge and moan about things like this? It's the best feeling to know it might never have happened to me. I look at her now, she is exactly three months old today, and I think 'When is this dream going to end?'" 

And what the million dollar question: Would you have another baby?

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Miss Howarth replied. 

VOTE FOR PIPPA IN A CUTE BABY COMPETITION

QUOTE FROM HOSPITAL TRUST

Coralie Rogers, deputy head of midwifery at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust said: “I am delighted for Robin, Michael and all their family and on behalf of the Trust would like to pass on our congratulations to them all and welcome Pippa to the world.

“It’s always lovely to hear such positive feedback from our new mums about the care they received at FGH and I will of course pass on Robin’s thanks to all our midwives and medical staff who helped care for Robin and Pippa.

“Congratulations once again to Robin, Michael and all their family on their wonderful new arrival and we wish them all the best for the future."