![\"Ezra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1_PEOPLE_Baby_07025884.jpg\")
Ezra was diagnosed with amniotic band syndrome . Parents who discovered their unborn son’s hand had been “severed” in the womb by a band of tissue are “so relieved” he has arrived “happy and healthy”(Image: PA)<\/p>\nA County Durham family were devastated to discover their baby son had ‘severed’ his arm in the womb – but months on are determined he will thrive<\/p>\n
08:32, 06 Nov 2025Updated 08:40, 06 Nov 2025<\/p>\n
Ezra was diagnosed with amniotic band syndrome . Parents who discovered their unborn son’s hand had been “severed” in the womb by a band of tissue are “so relieved” he has arrived “happy and healthy”(Image: PA)<\/p>\n
A rare condition caused a County Durham<\/a> baby boy’s arm to be “severed” in the womb – but after being born happy and healthy his parents said they were determined he goes on to “thrive” regardless. Parents Tom Noble, 30, and Faith Richmond, 33, live in Middleton St George near Darlington<\/a>.<\/p>\n During Faith’s pregnancy with baby Ezra, all seemed well. Early scans showed he was developing well and “everything was fine”. But by the time of a 15-week private scan, they discovered their little one was missing a left hand.<\/p>\n Further tests at the Royal Victoria Infirmary<\/a> confirmed a rare condition called amniotic band syndrome – a band of tissue had effectively severed Ezra’s arm. According to the NHS<\/a>, amniotic band syndrome is extremely rare and can be caused by the baby kicking its foot through the amniotic sac early on in development, causing a band of tissue to form inside the womb which the baby then gets caught up in.<\/p>\n Fortunately, after months of close monitoring, Ezra was born safely in April 2025. Dad Tom said: “We\u2019re just so relieved that he\u2019s OK and he was born happy and healthy\u2026he could have had it so much worse, and he\u2019s not going to struggle in life, he\u2019ll find his own little way.<\/p>\n “His arm could make him an easy target when he is older, but by then he might have some kind of bionic arm that all the other kids are fascinated with! We don\u2019t want his arm to stop him from doing anything or achieving anything, and I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t.”<\/p>\n After months of weekly scans to monitor him, baby Ezra was safely born in April. But the months before that involved several scares.<\/p>\n Mum Faith said that her memory of the scan was that it was “a massive shock, like an out-of-body experience\u201d. The couple decided to post online about what they were going through and Ezra’s condition in February, a couple of months before his birth, as Tom had decided to compete in the Great North Run.<\/p>\n Our ChronicleLive Daily newsletter is free. You can sign up to receive it here<\/a>. It will keep you up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East.<\/p>\n Faith added: “It was such a gorgeous feeling after such a horrible time. We felt vulnerable posting it, and I even had messages from people saying their baby has the same condition, and we had so many donations.\u201d<\/p>\n Faith said she \u201cmanaged to relax a little more\u201d after the 28-week mark and had \u201csuch a sense of relief\u201d, as she was told the chance of survival was higher if they made it past that point.<\/p>\n Tom added that this was not without anxiety though, and said: “One week they would say he looks good but, by the weekends, we were just preparing for the worst. The waiting was horrible.<\/p>\n The band was getting close to his face but he managed to untangle himself in the time it took for our doctors to consult another doctor. Luckily for us, he was an active baby.\u201d As for Ezra’s birth, Faith added: \u201cIt was gorgeous, I loved it \u2013 he had jaundice and needed some incubation treatment, but other than that he was brilliant.”<\/p>\n They explained that Ezra now has three-monthly check-ups, but everything has thus far been fine. She said: “He gets X-rays, and they check his back muscles because he\u2019s got two loose bones near his elbow,\u201d Faith explained. “Everything has been fine so far \u2013 we keep an eye on him to see if there is an infection where his fingers would be.”<\/p>\n Looking ahead to Ezra’s schooling, she said: \u201cKids can be horrible, and we won\u2019t be there to protect him. I just hope we can teach him well enough to stand up for himself, and I think everyone worries about bullying anyway. By then, I think he could even be the cool one with a robot arm!\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cIt hasn\u2019t put me off having more children at all \u2013 I think if we have more kids, it might make me realise how hard this pregnancy was.”<\/p>\n As for the Great North Run<\/a>, Tom completed it in one hour and 50 minutes, and raised \u00a33,000 for pregnancy research charity Tommy’s He added: “I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well. I really committed to the training, but when I actually got there, on the track, I just didn\u2019t care \u2013 I wanted to run my own race and try to enjoy it and the atmosphere.<\/p>\n “We wanted to raise money and awareness about Tommy\u2019s and the condition, really. We also wanted to shout out another charity called LimbBo \u2013 they do pop-ups around the country for children and parents\u2026 and it\u2019d be nice to support them in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n To donate to Tom\u2019s fundraiser, visit his JustGiving<\/a> page.<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_PEOPLE_Baby_07025878.jpg\")
Tom Noble and Faith Richmond are delighted that little baby Ezra has “thrived” despite a severed hand during his development(Image: PA)<\/p>\n![\"Faith,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_01K9BZM66D8TDK0B63EBDJNAKZ.jpg\")
Faith, Tom and their little boy Ezra (Image: PA)<\/p>\n![\"Little](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_01K9BZM9MGHNH4ABEV98S647DP.jpg\")
Little Ezra’s hand was ‘severed’ in the womb.(Image: PA)<\/p>\n