Melissa Ohden’s mother, who she chose not to name, took a saline infusion at an Iowa hospital on August 24, 1977 and left believing she was no longer pregnant.
But weighing just 1.3kgs, Melissa survived and was saved by a nurse who heard her muffled cries coming from a medical waste bin.
"How could any abortionist, much less one affiliated with one of the most prestigious hospitals in the region, have made such a mistake?" Melissa wrote in her memoir.
"What doctor or nurse would believe that a woman more than seven months pregnant was less than five months along?"
After she was found alive, Melissa suffered seizures, jaundice and respiratory distress.
A saline solution abortion is a rarely used method where the woman has a chemical solution injected into the uterus to stop late pregnancies.
"As I fought for my life in the neonatal intensive care unit, it became clear to the doctors and nurses on hand that my birth mother had been pregnant for far longer than the eighteen to twenty weeks reported at the time of the abortion," she said.
"The pediatrician who examined me a couple of days after I was delivered estimated that my gestational age at birth was about thirty-one weeks– well into the third trimester."
Melissa spent three months in hospital being nursed back to health before she was adopted by Linda and Ron Cross.
The couple had a four-year-old daughter named Tammy and Melissa did not find out about her birth parents until she was 14 years old.
Melissa had been fighting with her sister when Tammy blurted out: "At least my parents wanted me."
The outburst triggered a conversation with Mrs Cross who told her about her birth mother's botched abortion.
When she turned 19, Melissa started to search for her birth parents and eventually discovered her biological father had died.
After hitting the dead end, she gave up the search while she married and had children of her own.
But when she was 36, Melissa's biological cousin tracked her down to give her more information about her birth.
She said Melissa's mother had irregular periods and did not realise she was pregnant until the third trimester.
After 17 years of searching, Melissa was finally put in touch with her mother and after three years of communicating over emails, they finally met.
Melissa said she holds no anger toward her biological mother or grandmother and has learnt to forgive.
"Meeting my birth mother and her family was the beginning of what we both hope will be a relationship that grows and deepens over the rest of our lives," she said.
After the emotional reunion, Melissa discovered she has two half-sisters who she plans to meet, and has now written a memoir detailing her journey called, You Carried Me: A Daughter’s Memoir.
But weighing just 1.3kgs, Melissa survived and was saved by a nurse who heard her muffled cries coming from a medical waste bin.
"How could any abortionist, much less one affiliated with one of the most prestigious hospitals in the region, have made such a mistake?" Melissa wrote in her memoir.
Melissa Ohden survived an abortion attempt when she was eight months old. Photo: Supplied
After she was found alive, Melissa suffered seizures, jaundice and respiratory distress.
A saline solution abortion is a rarely used method where the woman has a chemical solution injected into the uterus to stop late pregnancies.
"As I fought for my life in the neonatal intensive care unit, it became clear to the doctors and nurses on hand that my birth mother had been pregnant for far longer than the eighteen to twenty weeks reported at the time of the abortion," she said.
"The pediatrician who examined me a couple of days after I was delivered estimated that my gestational age at birth was about thirty-one weeks– well into the third trimester."
Melissa's mother took a saline infusion, but the baby survived and was found by a nurse crying in a medical waste bin. Photo: Supplied
The couple had a four-year-old daughter named Tammy and Melissa did not find out about her birth parents until she was 14 years old.
Melissa had been fighting with her sister when Tammy blurted out: "At least my parents wanted me."
The outburst triggered a conversation with Mrs Cross who told her about her birth mother's botched abortion.
After being nursed back to health, Melissa was adopted by an Iowa family at three months. Photo: Supplied
After hitting the dead end, she gave up the search while she married and had children of her own.
But when she was 36, Melissa's biological cousin tracked her down to give her more information about her birth.
Melissa didn't find out about her birth mother until her sister Tammy (both pictured) told her during a fight. Photo: Supplied
After 17 years of searching, Melissa was finally put in touch with her mother and after three years of communicating over emails, they finally met.
Melissa said she holds no anger toward her biological mother or grandmother and has learnt to forgive.
"Meeting my birth mother and her family was the beginning of what we both hope will be a relationship that grows and deepens over the rest of our lives," she said.
After the emotional reunion, Melissa discovered she has two half-sisters who she plans to meet, and has now written a memoir detailing her journey called, You Carried Me: A Daughter’s Memoir.
Melissa is now happily married with children of her own and is looking forward to forming a relationship with her birth mother. Photo: Supplied
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