TWO newborn survivors came face to face yesterday on the day Liverpool Women’s Hospital’s Newborn Appeal hit the £2m milestone.

Rachel McGuire, who was born at the hospital weighing just 1.5lbs when the appeal was first launched 17 years ago, met one of the unit’s new arrivals baby Sophie Osborne.

Sophie weighed 2lb 5 oz when she was born last month to parents Sarah Langley and Phillip Osborne from Stoneycroft.

She is the latest baby to benefit from equipment funded by the appeal.

Rachel’s mother, Faith, was shocked and delighted to learn she was pregnant aged 43.

But because of high blood pressure Rachel, from Crosby, was born by emergency caesarean at just 28 weeks and spent many weeks in an incubator.

Since then Faith, her husband, Adrian, and their family have raised thousands of pounds for the appeal as a thank you to the excellent neo-natal care that saved Rachel’s life.

Rachel, who has knitted baby clothes for the unit, said: “We do all we can to help. When I look at babies on the unit like Sophie it is hard to believe that I was ever as small as they are.

“It's amazing that they can survive. But they need so much equipment that we need to do all we can to help.”

The Newborn Appeal was started in 1992 by Jan Walton to say thank you to the hospital for caring for her babies – the world-famous all girl sextuplets.

All money from the appeal goes to buying specialist life-saving equipment and funding research.