Charlotte Wyatt, who weighed just 1lb when she was born prematurely, was given only months to live after a hospital won the legal right last autumn not to resuscitate her if she stopped breathing.

Doctors secured the ruling, against the wishes of Charlotte’s parents, on the grounds that she was brain-damaged and it was in the baby’s own interests not to be resuscitated since it would prolong her suffering and would be “purposeless”.

Doctors expected that Charlotte, now 15 months old, would succumb to an infection that would prove fatal without emergency intervention. However, she has survived 3½ winter months since the ruling; there is also evidence that her breathing is becoming stronger and she is less dependent on an oxygen supply — an improvement confirmed by hospital sources. The family claims she has some sight and can hear clapping.

Yesterday Carol Glass, a friend of the Wyatts, said: “Doctors said Charlotte would not live to see her first birthday and that was months ago. The hospital then said she was unlikely to make it through the winter months, but we are now a good way through.

“Charlotte should not have this ‘do not resuscitate order’ left hanging over her. She could now live on with the right treatment. Her parents Darren and Debbie want her to be treated and are hoping that one day she will be able to go home with them.”

The Wyatts, who live in Portsmouth and spend hours each day with their daughter in hospital, have now commissioned an audit of her health by a group of independent medical experts.

At a court hearing on Friday, the Wyatts’ lawyers will argue that in light of Charlotte’s improved state of health, doctors at St Mary’s hospital, Portsmouth, should not leave her to die if she stops breathing again, but put her on a ventilator.

Solicitor Richard Stein, of Leigh, Day & Co, said: “Given the possibility that there is a change in Charlotte’s condition, it is important that all the information is put before the court before any life-or-death decisions about treatment are made.

“Charlotte is definitely more alert than she was. She is not finding as much difficulty breathing.”

Lawyers will ask the court to consider fresh medical evidence. “If everyone agrees that there is a significant change in Charlotte’s condition, then the judgment will need to be reviewed,” said Stein. “Circumstances have changed since Mr Justice Hedley made his decision in October that it would be lawful not to ventilate her. If he is asked the same question again, in a new set of circumstances, the decision might be different.

“The worrying aspect of this case is that, having been told there was no prospect of Charlotte getting better, there now seems to be some evidence that she is.”

Relations between the family and the hospital remain tense. Doctors are not convinced that Charlotte has shown significant improvement. Darren Wyatt is allowed to visit his daughter only if accompanied by a security guard. The Wyatts have also challenged doctors over the drugs they are giving their daughter.

Charlotte has been in an oxygen box since she was born three months prematurely at just 26 weeks, with her organs underdeveloped. At birth her body was no longer than a ballpoint pen.

Apparently unable to see or hear, she had to be resuscitated three times after stopping breathing. In October the High Court backed hospital doctors who argued that to resuscitate her a fourth time would be “purposeless and intolerable to her”.

The parents now claim that Charlotte can follow objects with her eyes and hear clapping. They also say she is spending longer periods out of her oxygen box sitting in a baby chair.

On Friday the family will argue in court that the hospital’s right not to resuscitate Charlotte should be suspended for six weeks until independent reports on her health are prepared.

It is likely to be contested by the hospital. Although doctors accept there has been an improvement in her breathing, they say they have no evidence that she can see or hear.

A spokeswoman said: “The court made a decision and we would need to see specific and medically confirmed evidence before we would reconsider our position.”

The case is one of several spurring a national debate on the lengths to which doctors should go to keep desperately ill premature babies alive. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched an inquiry into the issue.

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