Andy and I were due to attend the local antenatal class that evening, I wasn’t feeling up to it but Andy persuaded me to go as it was the last class of the course. The lady running it usually took routine tests and asked to take my blood pressure. We were shocked to hear that the readings were high and that she wanted to do further checks. She listened to the baby’s heart beat and we began to get more worried, it was extremely faint. Everything seemed to happen very quickly after that.
I was rushed up to Northampton Hospital where they wired me up to all the relevant machines, this was when they found out that the cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck and that our baby hadn’t been feeding for nearly a month. An emergency caesarean section followed and Seb was born weighing 3lbs 14oz and measuring very small for his ‘age.’ The nurses took him immediately into SCBU where he needed help breathing and feeding. He very soon got the hang of breathing but stayed in SCBU for 4 weeks whilst learned to feed properly.
During all of this I needed post natal care which meant that whilst I was still in hospital I was in a separate ward, 5 minutes walk away, though it felt like a whole world away at times. I was given a beautiful photo of Seb which I kept beside me in hospital and kept me going through the dark days and nights. Once I was discharged from hospital we spent the next 2 weeks making the (what seemed at the time, a very long) 40 mile round trip to the hospital each day, and late night phone calls to check he was ok before we could even think about sleeping. Being away from home was incredibly difficult but both my and Andy’s family visited and supported us both which we were so grateful for. With the outstanding care and dedication that we received from all the staff and nurses Seb made fantastic progress and we were discharged to go home.
