By . Anna Hodgekiss . PUBLISHED: . 07:16 EST, 30 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:08 EST, 30 January 2013 . A baby born weighing just 1lb after her mother's waters broke 17 weeks early has defied doctors' expectations and survived. Kelsie Hemmings had popped into her local Tesco to buy a drink when she suddenly delivered the umbilical cord. Her daughter Lacey-Jane was so tiny when she was born that doctors feared she would die within the hour. Kelsie Hemmings with her daughter Lacey-Jane, who was born 17 weeks early weighing just 1lb . Due to being so premature, Lacey-Jane has suffered from chronic lung disease and has a bleed on her brain - but doctors have been impressed with her progress . Ms Hemmings, 23, was rushed to a specialist unit at Chelsea . and Westminster Hospital on July 8 last year when she suffered a . haemorrhage and her waters broke. With Lacey-Jane being starved of oxygen inside the womb, surgeons rushed to perform a Caesarean section to try and save her. She was born weighing just 1lb, and could fit into the palm of her father Gary's hand. After five months in hospital, Lacey-Jane was allowed home in time to spend Christmas with her brothers (l-r) Kelsie, Lacey-Jane and her brothers Marley, four, Jayden, three, and David, two . Ms Hemmings, of Harwich, said: 'One doctor thought she was already dead [when we arrived at the hospital]. But when they scanned her heart beat it was so strong they rushed ahead with the Caesarean. 'Forty-five minutes later they . resuscitated her. They didn't think she would live any longer than an . hour. But I knew she would.' Crucially, doctors are not legally obliged to resuscitate any baby born before 24 weeks because their chances of survival are so slim. Lacey-Jane spent the first few months of her life between Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Colchester General Hospital. She has suffered from chronic lung . disease and has a bleed on her brain but doctors are 'amazed' at how well . she is improving and she was allowed home at the beginning of December. She should only be two and a half months old by now, but will soon be seven months old. Ms Hemmings added: 'The first three months I took day by day. 'She had a good day followed by a really . bad day. When she hit the four-and-a-half month mark her heart stopped. 'But when it came back she made a recovery and since it has been . amazing. Ms Hemmings, who has three other children - Marley, four; Jayden, three, and two-year-old David, added: 'Christmas was fantastic. She had been . in hospital for a few days because she had really bad bronchitis but . came out of hospital on Christmas Eve. She smiled for the first time on . Christmas Day which made the day. 'We are getting back to normal and we will have a big birthday party for her.' According to the Guiness Book of Records, the lightest birth weight recorded for a surviving infant was 9.17 ounces. Rumaisa Rahman was born at Loyola University Medical Centre in Chicago in 2004.
Doctors feared Lacey-Jane Hemmings would die within an hour .
Was born weighing just 1lb, and could fit into the palm of her father's hand .
Survival is miraculous given many babies born before 24 weeks don't survive .
By . Anna Hodgekiss . PUBLISHED: . 07:16 EST, 30 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:08 EST, 30 January 2013 . A baby born weighing just 1lb after her mother's waters broke 17 weeks early has defied doctors' expectations and survived. Kelsie Hemmings had popped into her local Tesco to buy a drink when she suddenly delivered the umbilical cord. Her daughter Lacey-Jane was so tiny when she was born that doctors feared she would die within the hour. Kelsie Hemmings with her daughter Lacey-Jane, who was born 17 weeks early weighing just 1lb . Due to being so premature, Lacey-Jane has suffered from chronic lung disease and has a bleed on her brain - but doctors have been impressed with her progress . Ms Hemmings, 23, was rushed to a specialist unit at Chelsea . and Westminster Hospital on July 8 last year when she suffered a . haemorrhage and her waters broke. With Lacey-Jane being starved of oxygen inside the womb, surgeons rushed to perform a Caesarean section to try and save her. She was born weighing just 1lb, and could fit into the palm of her father Gary's hand. After five months in hospital, Lacey-Jane was allowed home in time to spend Christmas with her brothers (l-r) Kelsie, Lacey-Jane and her brothers Marley, four, Jayden, three, and David, two . Ms Hemmings, of Harwich, said: 'One doctor thought she was already dead [when we arrived at the hospital]. But when they scanned her heart beat it was so strong they rushed ahead with the Caesarean. 'Forty-five minutes later they . resuscitated her. They didn't think she would live any longer than an . hour. But I knew she would.' Crucially, doctors are not legally obliged to resuscitate any baby born before 24 weeks because their chances of survival are so slim. Lacey-Jane spent the first few months of her life between Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Colchester General Hospital. She has suffered from chronic lung . disease and has a bleed on her brain but doctors are 'amazed' at how well . she is improving and she was allowed home at the beginning of December. She should only be two and a half months old by now, but will soon be seven months old. Ms Hemmings added: 'The first three months I took day by day. 'She had a good day followed by a really . bad day. When she hit the four-and-a-half month mark her heart stopped. 'But when it came back she made a recovery and since it has been . amazing. Ms Hemmings, who has three other children - Marley, four; Jayden, three, and two-year-old David, added: 'Christmas was fantastic. She had been . in hospital for a few days because she had really bad bronchitis but . came out of hospital on Christmas Eve. She smiled for the first time on . Christmas Day which made the day. 'We are getting back to normal and we will have a big birthday party for her.' According to the Guiness Book of Records, the lightest birth weight recorded for a surviving infant was 9.17 ounces. Rumaisa Rahman was born at Loyola University Medical Centre in Chicago in 2004.
would die within the hour. Kelsie Hemmings with She was born weighing just 1lb, and could fit into the palm of her father Gary's hand. After obliged to resuscitate any baby born before 24