It went from being a week before baby came, to ‘you’re going to theatre right now’

A difficult pregnancy

My husband Liam and I found out I was pregnant in 2023, very early on. Before I missed my period I felt different, took a test and there was the faintest little line.

My pregnancy wasn’t great. I was sick everyday, throughout the day, which was challenging. I was tired all the time and remained the same weight throughout my pregnancy, which was a combination of me losing weight and my baby gaining weight.

I never really had the ‘cravings’ that everyone speaks about as I just went off a lot of things due to being sick so often.

I would do it all again to have my little girl, as she is a blessing.”

High blood pressure

At a midwife appointment at 30 weeks, I was sent to the hospital. I found out baby was measuring small, and my blood pressure was high. I started blood pressure medication and was sent home.

This is when I began to worry a lot. From then on, we attended appoints every few days and spoke to numerous consultants which while informative was emotionally draining. I’d leave the hospital full of anxiety and dread and what could happen.

We later met a consultant and discussed that I wouldn’t be allowed to go full term. I was told I had pregnancy hypertension, which is high blood pressure during pregnancy. I was kept in hospital from 33 weeks and 5 days, as my blood pressure kept going up.

A whirlwind

It was that Sunday that everything changed. I had an unbearable migraine, and my blood pressure was still rising. We met with the consultant, where the plan changed each hour.

We went from being told it would be a week before my baby came but I would be kept in hospital, to a few days, to tonight, to you’re going to theatre right now.”

I was hooked up to drips and rushed for an emergency c-section. I was filled with dread, worrying that she wouldn’t be strong enough or fully developed as we knew she was small.

The whole experience was a whirlwind. I had no option but to trust the doctors, nurses and midwives in the room, which felt like a daze.

Ava

Our daughter Ava was born on Sunday 10 December, weighing only 3lbs 9oz.

I only got to see her for a second before she was whisked away to the neonatal team and placed in an incubator.”

Ava needed help to breathe and had to have a few procedures to help strengthen her lungs. She needed breathing tubes, and was fed through a feeding tube. She had round the clock care.

Our NICU experience

The only way to describe this experience is emotionally and physically draining. We wanted to spend as much time as possible with Ava, sitting in the unit at night and in the early hours of the morning.

At first we both tried to put on a brave face, having family visit the NICU as they would a baby at home, but after a few days I couldn’t cope emotionally.

I obsessed over everything the doctors told us, taking notes and tracking everything to help give us a sense of control in a situation where we didn’t have any.”

Watching other people happily leave hospital with their baby was so difficult as we were unsure of when we’d get to take our precious little girl home.

The nurses and doctors in the NICU were outstanding, we honestly couldn’t fault them. The care and compassion they showed to us and for our little girl was next to none.

Our baby spent a total of 14 days in neonatal care before she was strong enough for us to take her home on the 23rd of December.

It was so special to have her home in time for Christmas.”

My health after birth

I needed blood pressure medication until 4 months postpartum. At my consultant review I was told that I had atypical pre-eclampsia. They believed that my headache was caused by fluid in my brain and were worried I was going to have an aneurism.

Strangely, finding out this is what happened felt like a sigh of relief. It was reassuring to have a reason why things escalated so quickly. I blamed myself for what happened and this gave us some answers.

Hearing the extent of how concerned the doctors and midwives were for my health was terrifying as I didn’t fully understand the urgency on the day.

Knowing there is nothing I could have done to prevent this does provide some comfort, but I’m still dealing with the birth trauma.”

The future

As for Ava, she continues to get bigger and stronger everyday. She is on the small side (even for her corrected age) but is meeting her milestones. My husband and I would be lost without her and she really is such a blessing.



This year, Ava and I took part in the Hawaii Sensathon for Tommy’s. We chose to fundraise as Ava was taking part in her Baby Sensory class and we are always happy to raise money for charity.

When we looked into the work which Tommy’s does it felt fitting to raise funds and help towards the work they do as I had experienced complications in my own pregnancy and sadly have a few friends who have experience the loss of a baby.



My advice for others going through similar things would be: stay calm when faced with a difficult situation and listen to the advice of consultants.

Trust your own judgement, you know your own body.”

Speak openly with friends and family about what you are going through and don’t be scared to ask for help.