HER chances of surviving were less than the toss of a coin but even being born 17 weeks early wasn’t going to stop Moira kicking her way into the world.

Born at less than 24 weeks gestation and weighing 546g, Moira is the smallest and most premature baby born at Mater Mothers’ Hospital, South Brisbane this year.

She will spend Christmas in hospital but her parents Ashlee Eager and Benjamin Walsh from the Fassifern Valley hope that, now just over 2kg, she will be going home with them early in the New Year.

Ms Eager (pictured) is staying in one of the Mater’s apartments near the hospital to save the 90km trip from home.

The Mater’s Dr Pita Birch said survival rates of babies as young as 22 weeks gestation had dramatically improved in the past decade due to new technologies and treatments.

Dr Birch said the Mater would care for about 80 babies over Christmas in the hospital’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NICU).

Moira – her full name is Moira-Clár from her mum’s Irish background – was due this month but arrived on Father’s Day, September 5.

“I’m a diabetic and I have a blood-clotting condition and the Mater is a high-risk hospital so I was going there for my ante-natal care,” Ms Eager said.

“It ended up being great because they have one of the best NICUs in the country.”

On Father’s Day, Benjamin came home from work and he and Ashlee got ready to watch a movie with their son Lestat-Darius.

“I was sitting on the couch and I felt my waters break,” Ms Eager said.

“We hit panic stations because at that point I didn’t think a baby born before 26 weeks could survive.

“The whole drive into Brisbane, I was feeling slight contractions and – knowing what they were - I kept thinking: This isn’t happening; thinking of all the other possibilities that I wanted it to be.

“When we got in there the nurses were wonderful and they took us in straight away and found her heartbeat which gave us a bit of hope.”

Speaking on the phone to The Ipswich Tribune, she described herself as “a bit of a realist”.

“Being a high school teacher, I’ve seen the great things in this world and I’ve probably seen some of the worst. So I try to sit in the middle,” she said.

“I would say I’ve become a lot more positive since having Moira.

“Like, that first night before she was born, the doctor came down and she had a really frank conversation with us and told us: ‘Moira has about a 40 percent chance of living’.

“And I looked at Ben and we both said: ‘Let’s roll the dice.’ To us, that’s good enough odds to try.”

With tears in her voice she added: “I don’t think I really realised how small that percentage is until you go through the journey and, unfortunately in that time, I have seen babies pass away in the NICU and I’ve had to watch parents walk out those doors without their baby in their arms.

“Which really brought home to me how lucky we are that she has battled through and is coming home.

“It’s not a great journey to be on. But, like I said, I’m bringing my baby home so I’d walk it again in a heartbeat because I get Moira at the end.”

Her voice becoming triumphant, she talks about what a fighter Moira is.

“Oh, she literally came out kicking,” she said.

“We have a small video of her kicking her legs and the doctors were absolutely gobsmacked at the fact that she came out moving and trying to cry.

“But from pretty much day dot she was said to be a fierce fighter and her little corner or our pod was known as the naughty corner because she likes to get up to naughty things.

“She’s got a personality and a half and she has definitely captured a whole heap of hearts and has fought every step of that way because she’s wanted to.

“The nurses have always said, if they’re a fighter; if they’ve got personality and sass, they’re the ones they want because they’re the ones that will survive.”

Originally from Campbelltown in New South Wales, Ms Eager had been teaching at a school called Bonalbo Central, staying down for the week and going home on weekends.

“The plan was to finish out my contract there at the end of the year then transfer up to the Queensland system. But Moira had different plans.

“Me teaching is probably off the cards for a little while, because Moira will be coming home on oxygen, she can’t go into any kind of day care or anything.

“We aren’t sure about the long-term effects. There’s a possibility she could have hearing issues or sight issues – possibly brain damage because she did have some small brain bleeds at the beginning.

“But she does everything that a normal baby does at the moment. She can move; she’s quite strong when she wants to be.

“If she pulls something out or pushes something away she will.

“She tries to roll over at the moment.”