Parents whose unborn son’s hand was severed in womb by band of tissue are ‘relieved’ he was born ‘happy and healthy’

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” and are determined that nothing will ever hold him back.

Tom Noble, a 30-year-old business development manager, and Faith Richmond, a 33-year-old hairdresser, were overjoyed in August 2024 when they found out they were expecting a baby, with early scans showing “everything was fine”.

But, at 15 weeks, a private gender scan revealed their baby boy was “missing his left hand” and further tests confirmed he had amniotic band syndrome.

According to the NHS, 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.

Tom and Faith, who live in Middleton St George, County Durham, said doctors explained that a band had “severed” their baby’s left hand from the mid-forearm down.

After months of weekly scans to monitor him, baby Ezra was safely born in April 2025.

In September 2025, Tom completed the Great North Run to raise awareness about the condition and raised more than £3,500 for Tommy’s, the UK’s leading pregnancy research charity.

Tom told PA Real Life: “We’re just so relieved that he’s OK and he was born happy and healthy…he could have had it so much worse, and he’s not going to struggle in life, he’ll find his own little way.

“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’t want his arm to stop him from doing anything or achieving anything, and I’m sure it won’t.”

In August 2024, Faith found out she was pregnant and she and Tom were “over the moon”.

At around six weeks, they had a private viability scan, which confirmed the pregnancy is viable and that the baby had a heartbeat, and “everything seemed fine”.

They then had the 12-week scan through the NHS, and doctors said nothing abnormal was detected and the genetic testing was also clear.

At 15 weeks, they had a private scan to determine the gender and were told they were having a boy but they could not detect his left arm.

Faith said: “It was a massive shock, like an out-of-body experience.”

They were then referred to Darlington Memorial Hospital, where it was confirmed “that the baby’s hand was missing”, and doctors suggested further tests in case “he was severely poorly”.

They were subsequently referred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle where it was confirmed their baby had amniotic band syndrome.

Doctors explained that a band had “severed” his left hand from the mid-forearm and that he would not have felt any pain, as his “pain receptors had not developed yet”.

After that, they had to attend scans every Monday at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Tom said: “One week they would say he looks good but, by the weekends, we were just preparing for the worst. The waiting was horrible.”

In February 2025, Tom decided to do the Great North Run later in the year, and he and Faith posted on social media about Ezra’s condition.

Faith said: “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.”

Faith said she “managed to relax a little more” after the 28-week mark and had “such a sense of relief”, as she was told the chance of survival was higher if they made it past that point.

Ezra was nearly delivered at 30 weeks because a band had wrapped around his feet.

Tom explained: “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.”

Faith was induced at 37 weeks, on April 11 2025.

Faith said: “It was gorgeous, I loved it – he had jaundice and needed some incubation treatment, but other than that he was brilliant.”

Faith and Tom now take Ezra for an appointment every three months at The James Cook University Hospital to monitor his progress.

“He gets X-rays, and they check his back muscles because he’s got two loose bones near his elbow,” Faith explained.

“Everything has been fine so far – we keep an eye on him to see if there is an infection where his fingers would be.”

Ezra is also on the list for prosthetics, and he has weekly swimming lessons, with Faith saying “nothing can stop him”.

In September 2025, Tom ran the Great North Run for Tommy’s in around one hour and 50 minutes, and raised more than £3,500.

He said: “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’t care – I wanted to run my own race and try to enjoy it and the atmosphere.

“We wanted to raise money and awareness about Tommy’s and the condition, really.

“We also wanted to shout out another charity called LimbBo – they do pop-ups around the country for children and parents… and it’d be nice to support them in the future.”

Looking to the future, Faith and Tom are “not worried” about Ezra attending nursery, as other children are “innocent at that age”.

However, they do have some reservations about secondary school.

Faith said: “Kids can be horrible, and we won’t 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!”

Looking back on her experiences, Faith said: “It hasn’t put me off having more children at all – I think if we have more kids, it might make me realise how hard this pregnancy was.”

To donate to Tom’s fundraiser, visit:  www.justgiving.com/page/thomas-noble-1.