Groundbreaking: Doctors Remove Baby from Womb, Perform Operation, Put Her Back Inside

UK doctors successfully operated on an unborn baby and put her back in her mother's womb after detecting a spinal deformity at just 24 weeks gestation.

Bethan Simpson is one of four UK women to receive this groundbreaking surgery.

After a 20-week checkup, doctors discovered Simpson's unborn daughter had spina bifida, a condition where a child's spinal cord does not grow completely and negatively affects the child's ability to walk. Spina bifida often times leads to early death.

While most babies born with this condition are aborted before they get a chance at life outside the womb, Simpson decided to try to surgery.

"We were offered continuing pregnancy, ending pregnancy or a new option called fetal surgery – fixing her before she is born. We had to do it," Simpson wrote in a Facebook post.

"Our lives were such a rollercoaster for the next few weeks," she said.

Simpson's daughter was only 24 weeks old when doctors removed her from the womb and operated on her spine.

"I had the most recognized surgeons from around the world from University College London Hospital and Belgium looking after me," she explained.

"We were a success. Her lesion was small and she smashed surgery like you wouldn't believe," she continued. "I'm fragile and sore but as long as she is doing fine that's all we care about."

Simpson's daughter is back in her mother's womb and will be born later this year. It's a future most babies with this condition never see. 

"Sadly, 80 percent of babies in England are terminated when their parents get told their baby has this condition. It's not a death sentence. She has the same potential as every one of us," Simpson said. "Yes, there are risks of things going wrong, but please think more about spina bifida. It's not what it used to be... I feel our baby kick me day in and day out – that's never changed. She's extra special, she's part of history and our daughter has shown just how much she deserves this life."