AN Irvine mum faced every parent’s worst nightmare when she her baby stopped breathing.

Kirstie McMillan’s baby daughter Macie suffered several complications when she was born NINE WEEKS premature and contracted the potentially fatal rhinovirus.

After initially leaving Crosshouse Hospital in May, Macie became unwell a fortnight later and was taken to the doctors.

However, she unfortunately took a turn for the worse and stopped breathing at home that same night.

But quick-thinking Kirstie managed to resuscitate her until paramedics arrived at her home in Townhead - saving her daughter’s life.

When she was brought back to hospital, Macie was diagnosed with rhinovirus and was in hospital for a further five weeks.

But thankfully the adorable tot - now almost seven months - has come on leaps and bounds as you can see from the centre picture.

Kirstie, 29, shared her story with the Times and urged other mums who gave birth prematurely not to be ashamed when sharing their experiences.

She said: “I gave birth prematurely and Macie was taken away to be put on ventilation.

“It was absolutely heartbreaking but the nurses at the hospital were absolutely fantastic and I don’t think I would have got through it without them.

“When I first went to see her I was frightened to touch her but the nurses were so encouraging and helpful.

“Unfortunately not long after she was brought home she contracted rhino virus which can kill and I actually had to resuscitate Macie before the paramedics came.

“It was the nurses that taught me how to resuscitate and I can’t thank them enough for their help. I still take Macie up to see them and say hello.” Determined to say thank you to the staff and nurses for their support, Kirstie held a coffee morning on Monday at the Oasis Community Cafe in Broomlands to not only raise funds for the Crosshouse neonatal unit but to mark World Prematurity Day.

Around 15 million babies around the world are born premature every year including 60,000 from the UK.

Kirstie added: “Macie’s come on great since then but the scariest thing about getting her home was thinking people would pity her because she’s on oxygen.

“But the nurses told me not to think about it at all and when anybody asks I just give them the full story about what happened to her.

“I would encourage any expectant mum’s who feels any pain to go to the doctors straight away because anyone can give birth prematurely.

“Having a child is hard but having a premature baby is one of the most worrying times to go through.

“The great thing about raising awareness of prematurity is that it’s helped me build up a relationship with other mums who have been through the same thing.

“Nobody should be afraid to talk about it.” In total, Kirstie managed to raise £131.47 from the coffee morning.