You would think that a baby born 10 weeks premature and weighing the same weight as a small bag of sugar would surely struggle to survive.

Not for little Eva O'Brien, who shocked and surprised her doting parents and doctors by living through a rare and frightening time.

Proud mother and father Claire O'Brien and Eddie Beqiraj, of Cuckoo Hill, Pinner, have been through what most people would call quite an ordeal because at just 20 weeks pregnant with her first born, Claire, 36, discovered baby Eva had a condition called Intra Uterine Growth Retardation which meant she was not growing in the womb at the standard rate.

Claire, who worked as a product developer for Tesco but is currently a full time mum to Eva, now six months old, said: “The doctors advised my husband Eddie and I that Eva would have to get to a minimum weight of 500 grams in order to survive when she was born.

“If she was born below this weight, any equipment they had to operate would be too big.

“This resulted in what seemed like a never-ending rollercoaster of check-ups and measurements to track Eva’s growth over the following weeks.”

As Christmas approached Claire’s health began to deteriorate, and was advised to have a Caesarean section.

Eva was born 10 weeks premature on December 22 at University College London weighing just 525 grams - the equivalent to a small bag of sugar and the size of a typical feotus at just after halfway through a woman’s pregnancy.

The newborn’s oesophagus did not connect to her stomach and she was transferred to The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, to undergo life-saving surgery although Claire could not go with her because she was still recovering from the birth procedure.

Ironically, her tiny size helped in this instance because the distance needed to connect her digestive tract was so small.

Thanks to The Sick Children’s Trust, the family - including Eddie, 31, who works in construction - were able to be together at Stevenson House, the trust-run ‘home from home’ accommodation at the hospital’s children’s hospital.

Claire said: “We spent our first Christmas as a family together in hospital, which at any other time wouldn’t have been pleasant but we were thrilled to have Eva and the news that her operation had gone well.

“Following Christmas and Eva’s surgery, her condition continued to improve for the next few weeks and we were really hopeful until she took a massive turn for the worse and her lungs collapsed.

“She struggled to cope with this and also developed sepsis, a life-threatening bacterial infection.

“It was a scary time and meant that Eva had to undergo further treatment but she is a little fighter and fought as hard as she could for 10 days until her condition once again became stable.”

The family were warned by doctors that it was likely Eva would develop further complications.

Claire said: “There are many unpleasant memories of those first few weeks of Eva’s life, where we were so worried for her health but there were times of immense joy also which we will always remember.

“Our journey has been up and down and each day has seemed to present a new challenge.”

On St Valentine’s Day, the family said goodbye to Stevenson House as Eva was transferred to Northwick Park Hospital in Watford Road, Harrow.

She stayed there for another 10 weeks, gaining both weight and strength, and on April 28, after 18 weeks in various hospitals Eva finally made it to her home in Pinner where she continues to grow bigger by the day.

Claire said: “We are ecstatic to finally have her home where she belongs, away from the clinical hospital environment full of monitors and beeping alarms.”