Doctors 'Freeze' Baby to Save Edward Ives' Life: Newborn 'Frozen' to Treat Rare Heart Condition, Lower Temperature, Only 5% Chance of Survival

Reports confirm that doctors at U.K.'s University College London Hospital decided to freeze a newborn baby for four straight days in order to treat a rare heart condition. The breakthrough treatment ultimately saved young Edward Ives' life, who initially only had a 5% chance of survival. The baby's heart was racing at over 300 beats per minute, but after being kept "frozen" to help lower his temperature, his heartbeat finally returned to normal on day four. According to the newborn's nerve-wracked mother Claire Ives, it looked as if her child was dead while in a frozen state. What kept 29-year-old Ives from ultimately breaking down was knowing that the treatment would hopefully save her baby son's life.

According to reports from the U.K., baby Edward was diagnosed with supra ventricular tachycardia (SVT), which caused his tiny heart to thump at over 300 beats per minute. That's nearly double the normal 160 heartbeats per minute.

"I thought I wasn't listening right or something," Claire Ives, a London nurse, told ABC News. While seven months pregnant, she used a hand-held device to try and listen to her unborn son's heartbeat. "I didn't believe his [heart] rate could be that fast."

When doctors were made aware of the baby's elevated heart rate, they delivered him five weeks early via emergency cesarean in August at the University College London Hospital.

According to ABC News, "SVT is caused by improper electrical impulses in the heart that leads to an irregular rapid heartbeat heart, which then can lead to heart failure or affect internal organs. When the heart beats too quickly, it can't fill up properly and then distribute blood to vital organs correctly."

After birth, the baby's heart rate still continued to rise. Doctors first attempted to reset Edwards heart rate by shocking his heart and giving him different medications. When that didn't work, they attempted to lower the newborn's temperature to protect his vital organs and slow down his heart rate... by freezing him.

Doctors initially used a cold gel blanket to lower Edward's body temperature to approximately 91 degrees, to slow his metabolism and prevent damage to his organs. Over the next four days, Ives and her husband Phillip watched as their newborn son lay wrapped up in a freezing blanket, wearing nothing but a little diaper.

"It was horrible to see him lying there, freezing in nothing but a nappy. It looked like he was dead... All I wanted to do was scoop him up and give him a warm cuddle. I just had to keep reminding myself that it was saving his life," Ives said. "It was really strange highs and lows because he was doing extremely poorly. But, oh, thank God! It worked."

Over the next few days, doctors began the slow process of warming Edward back up to a normal temperature. Finally, his heart rate remained stable.

Ten days after giving birth to their third child, Ives and her husband were finally able to hold baby Edward. A month later, the couple was able to bring him home to his siblings.

Edward is now a happy and  healthy six-month old, although he is still being closely monitored to see if the irregular heartbeat returns.

"It's made me appreciate all the small things about my children," said Ives, who is planning to run a half-marathon to raise awareness about neonatal SVT.  "It's the best thing ever to bring him home."