My 'heavy period' turned out be a hidden condition - it almost killed me and the baby I didn't know I was having
I wholeheartedly believe that to be true. But it’s astonishing to me, to think that the very thing I was born to do almost killed me.
What I thought was a menstrual period seemed to roll into the next without a break. A couple of days would pass before my bleeding started again, just as persistently as before. I was astonished when a positive result flashed at me, almost immediately. Still unconvinced, and without telling a soul, I booked a private scan.
But my baby girl was the sweetest, most wonderful surprise. I’d always dreamed of having a baby girl called Nina, so I felt as though my surprise pregnancy was simply meant to be. I was however told that I had an extremely low-lying placenta, known as Placenta Praevia, and referred to a specialist consultant for further imaging.
I felt like the walls were closing in on me, and a crushing fear overwhelmed me. I was petrified I’d die in childbirth, never meet Nina, never see Theo again. I was rushed into hospital and kept in overnight for monitoring. Midwives and doctors believed it was old blood, given it was pretty dark, and nothing to worry about.
I spent two nights in hospital, before being discharged. Just hours after I got home, my bleeding resumed, so I spent another six hours in hospital. I was allowed home on the basis that I live two minutes away from the hospital. Two days later, I passed an enormous blood clot in the shower. This time, there was no sign of an end to my bleeding.
My room once again filled with specialists, who unanimously agreed to transfer me to the delivery suite. “We don’t want to scare you and it doesn’t mean your baby is coming, but you’ll have one-to-one monitoring there,” they explained. I had a speculum examination, during which three large clots were removed. This temporarily eased my pain, but it was apparent things were taking a turn for the worst.
Before the second injection, I asked a midwife to roll me onto my side. I thought changing my position might help to ease my discomfort. But within seconds, I began to feel a bizarre sensation, almost as if my waters were breaking. Then, I felt something give. My anaesthetist, who ultimately saved my life, was the most gentle and calming presence. “We’re advised to keep you awake, but my advice is that we put you to sleep for the procedure,” he told me softly.
It was later decided that she would be transferred to Liverpool Women’s Hospital, who were more experienced in handling babies born at such an early gestation. I couldn’t breathe without oxygen, and my whole body shook violently. The pain across my fresh C-section wound was excruciating, and I had extreme post-traumatic stress disorder. Every time I felt I was bleeding, I was convinced I was going to haemorrhage again.
We had the most wonderful cuddle - something I had been certain would never happen again - and he was so happy to see pictures of his tiny baby sister. He couldn't understand why she wasn't with us, but I promised him he would meet her very soon.After two days at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, Nina returned to Whiston Hospital. Nothing could ever describe the pain of seeing my baby's tiny body covered in tubes and wires, machines doing for her what my body failed to.
I was told it could be treated with ibuprofen or paracetamol and, failing that, a small surgical procedure to manually close it. I was warned that it would be unlikely for Nina to come home before her due date, that she could require respiratory support for up to a year, and it would be almost impossible for me to breastfeed her - amongst countless other uncertainties.
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