An Auckland couple, Greg and Amy Hewgill, was in transit through Shanghai in July 19 after a European holiday when Amy began having labour pains after just 27 weeks of pregnancy.

The couple's baby named Lily Helen Hewgill was born premature by 11 weeks and weighed just 990 grams. She still remains in the Shanghai Children's Medical Centre as her parents try to raise fund for an emergency medical evacuation flight.

Baby Lily struggles to fight an infection due to her underdeveloped internal organs. The Chinese government issued her a birth certificate. Amy, Lily's mother, was born in the United States while husband Greg was a native of Canada. Both of them have dual citizenship.

The U.S. embassy had issued Baby Lily a passport but the couple wants to bring their baby to their home in New Zealand. Since the baby doesn't have documents that indicate she's a Kiwi, Baby Lily is stuck in China with her parents too.

Plea for donations

The couple started a blog named 'Help Bring Lily Home' as a way to raise funds for Lily's homecoming. Mr. Hewgill wrote on the blog that their current plan is to ensure Lily is stable since it could be weeks before the baby can be transported back to New Zealand.

The couple had already talked with the New Zealand embassy in China but officials have said that it could take up to two months to get all the paperwork done.

New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said the agency communicates with the couple regularly and is coordinating with the Department of Internal Affairs to expedite the process of issuing emergency travel documents.

Donations from friends and strangers flooded in to help bring baby Lily back to New Zealand. Current funds are over $NZ40,000 to help the couple closer to their goal of $NZ250,000 which is the cost of the medical evacuation flight back to New Zealand. This includes the cost of medical care, incubator and other special equipment needed during the flight.

Although the hospital in China is taking good care of the baby and his wife, Mr. Hewgill said they were restricted from visiting the baby. They also have difficulty in communicating with the staff since they don't speak the local language and cannot read the documents in Chinese.

The couple has travel insurance but it does not cover the baby's flight home. The donation page on the couple's blog has received donations from 590 people. The Hewgills have also posted their account number online so people who want to donate can do it right away.

In light of this news, New Zealanders are advised to get comprehensive insurance when traveling abroad which includes medical evacuation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government cannot pay for the flight or act as guarantor.

The couple has set up a donations page on fundraising website Givealittle called 'Get Lily Home'.

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