Bethan's story

My name is Bethan and I am 27 yrs old. Hollie was born 6 weeks early on 29th February 2001. The pregnancy wasn't planned and I had gone 14 weeks before I found out. I was very shocked and had mixed feelings about the pregnancy, my husband Lee was over the moon. I had no morning sickness and felt well until the day before my baby was born. Id been to hospital once overnight because Id been vomiting all night.

It was a Monday morning when everything changed, I woke up and just didn't feel right, I hadn't slept well in the night and had been going to the toilet every half hour. I phoned the midwife and told her that I had pain in my back and she told me to go to the hospital to be on the safe side. I phoned work up and told them Id be in a bit late. When I go to the hospital the midwife checked my urine and blood pressure. My blood pressure was very high and I had protein in my urine. Apart from my back ache I felt fine and when the midwife said they were going to keep me in I was really annoyed and fed up!! I phoned my husband and mother up to tell them that I was staying in but I told them not to worry and that I'd see them at visiting hours in the evening. By 5.00 the nurse told me as my blood pressure was so high they were taking me to the Labour ward so that I would have one to one observation, even then I didn't panic. I was put in my own room and was told to rest.

In the evening, my parents and my husband came to visit, but the midwive refused to let my brother visit because of my blood pressure this is when I started to get very anxious. After everyone went I developed a headache so bad I couldn't lie down I just felt terrible. I didn't sleep much that night, the nurse kept on coming backwards and forwards taking my blood pressure.

In the morning my headache was still there and my vision was very blurred, I remember looking at the clock on the wall and couldn't see the numbers. I went to phone my husband with great difficulty not being able to see the numbers properly. The midwifes weren't concerned about my eyesight and I dont think they believed me. Eventually an eye specialist came to see me, apparently he had written on my notes that I should have a early caesarian that afternoon. By lunchtime I was still the same and the midwifes kept on saying that it was the effect of the tables that were making my eyes funny!! My mother came to visit on her lunch hour and she looked quiet worried although she was trying to hide it, Lee my husband was quiet calm. By about 2.00 p.m. I went to the toilet and I remember walking back to the my room and telling my husband that i felt terrible, he told me to close my eyes and try and go to sleep.... Thats all I remember until I woke up the next day in Intensive Care.

About half and hour after I had gone to sleep the nurse came in to check my blood pressure thats when I had the first fit, the next one came about 20 mins after, My husband saw everything. The doctors rushed me into theater and delivered Holly in one minute.. Hollie was then rushed to special care weighing 4.11, quiet a good weight. I was on a life support machine that night, the doctors told my parents and husband that they did not know if I was going to pull through, I had vomited when I had the fit and it had affected my lungs. I slowly began to recover and after three days of being in intensive care the took me back down to the maternity ward. Me and Hollie stayed in hospital for 2 weeks.

I dont think my husband or my family will ever recover from what happened and my husband doesn't like to talk about it, but it helps me to talk about it and fill in the missing pieces of my life when I was in< intensive care.

My grandmother had eclampsia when she had my mother, my mum was o.k with all three of her pregnancies.

My husband would love another baby, but Im not ready for a long while.

Thanks

Bethan