A MOTHER has described the race against time to save her baby's life after she noticed his movements slowing down.

Sarah Ferguson felt the change when she was about 31 weeks pregnant, so she walked over to Darlington Memorial Hospital to get checked out.

She was attached to a baby heart rate monitor – but staff realised that Alfie’s heart rate was dropping.

Ms Ferguson, 32, was rushed to the operating theatre for a caesarean section, and Alfie was born nine weeks premature, weighing just four pounds nine ounces.

He was larger than most premature babies of the same age because Ms Ferguson is diabetic.

Alfie was taken by ambulance to James Cook University Hospital for specialist intensive care treatment as his lungs needed support.

After a week he returned to the special care baby unit in Darlington until he was well enough to come home.

She said: “When I was pregnant I could feel Alfie moving all the time, then all of a sudden the movement seemed to slow down.

“I rang the hospital and they told me not to worry but to come in so I walked over.

“They took me straight to theatre.

“It was a scary time.

“They saved his life because he wasn’t breathing but they also kept us calm through it all.”

Ms Ferguson added: “He is 18 weeks now and he is doing brilliantly.

“He was in hospital for 42 days and the staff were absolutely amazing with him, and with us.

“They really reassured us, and talked to us all the time about how he was doing. We just wanted to thank them for saving Alfie.”

Dad Darren Dent and Ms Ferguson visited the unit with baby Alfie to hand over £1,023 they have raised, which will be used to buy specialised equipment, transilluminators, to help locate the veins of tiny babies.

Mr Dent, 37, climbed the Yorkshire three peaks along with brother Gary in June.

The special care unit at Darlington provides round-the-clock care for ill or premature babies.