Southampton guildhall to be lit up in green to raise awareness for rare birth defect

Southampton Guildhall is to be lit up green on Thursday for Avery’s Angels Gastroschisis Foundation.

Gastroschisis is a rare birth defect affecting one in 3,000 babies in the UK.

Babies with gastroschisis are born with their intestines on the outside of their body.

Abbie Taylor, from Woolston, is the UK Hub Leader for Avery’s Angels Gastroschisis Foundation

Her son Kyden was in Princess Anne Hospital in a neonatal unit for three months when he was born.

He had five Gastroschisis related operations, all in his first three months of life.

Abbie said: "The birth defect more often than not can and will affect their day to day lives.

"For example my son Kyden who was born with it, now has a very short bowel and can sometimes struggle to control his bowel movements as well as significant pain occasionally.

"This requires hospital admissions occasionally too.

"Gastroschisis - even when repaired after birth - can still cause complications throughout life, sometimes deadly/life threatening complications."

Abbie supports families affect by gastroschisis in the UK throughout their pregnancy and once the baby is born.

She is responsible for hosting awareness days such as Thursday, fundraising events to support the foundation and families in need, and to go towards the research into the defect itself.

Abbie added: "It’s such an important birth defect because of its rarity, one in 3000 in the UK and every case is so entirely different to the last, no two cases are the same and as of today, there is still no known cause for this birth defect which makes it even more important for people to be aware of it. It can have such a significant impact on the individual emotionally, mentally and physically."