EP206 Judy, Four Pregnancies, Premature Birth at 26 WKS, NICU, Two Early Pregnancy Losses, Cervical Cerclage at 15 WKS (4th pregnancy), TFMR at 19 WKS, Grief

This week I share another episodes as part of the NICU series. My guest Sanya talks ys through her pregnancy and specifically her anxiety that she carried right up to the end. She was scheduled for induction at 39 weeks but one day prior to the induction her waters broke at home. She visited the hospital then returned home to wait for labour to start but nothing happened. Sanya went ahead with the induction but it was decided to bring her son into the world via c-section. Stay then shares her experience with NICU and in particular how scary it can be bringing your abby home for the frosty time without the safety blanket of the team from NICU.

This week I share my chat with Clare who talks me through each of her four birth stories across two episodes. Over the last 7 years Clare has been through a lot. She gave birth to four babies, suffered one pregnancy loss and held her daughter Mary as she passed away at just 5 days old. I decided to split Clare's story across two episodes as we spoke for some time and I really didn't want to remove any part of her story.

This week I share my chat with Una who talks me through her two birth stories. Una gave birth to her first baby at 38 weeks after discussing an induction with her consultant. She also opted for a walking epidural which to her gave great relief. She welcomed her daughter and looks back on her birth with positive memories. She then revisits discovering she was pregnant with twins and the shock that brought with it. At 24 weeks gestation Una decide to finish up work, going with a gut feeling. She felt off at 27 weeks feeling feverish, so went to hospital to get things checked out. Investigations started but a short time later Una was told she would be delivering her babies immediately. She birthed her first twin, her son, vaginally followed by his sister who was brought into the world by c-section. Una is so honest in recalling her experience of premature birth and feeling that disconnect between her babies being in the NICU and no longer in her tummy. She shares just how isolating it can be despite the fact she was going through this with her husband by her side. The constant ups and downs in terms of her twins health and the general physical and mental discomfort of the whole experience. Una does consistently mention how incredibly trusting she was in the team that surrounded her in each of her births and also in the HCP that looked after her twins. An episode that continues to opens our eyes up to the reality of life in NICU.

This week I share my chat with Angel who I'm sure you all know. Angel previously shared her first experience in EP163 followed by a lovely chat around building community which I will link below. This time we chat through her second pregnancy and hope of a homebirth. As her first son was a big baby, Angel was met with concerns around the size of her second baby and whether she would in fact be suitable for another homebirth. It wasn't until her third trimester that she knew her homebirth could happen, she was signed off by her consultant and her midwife could official take her under her wing. When labour started, it started quickly which Angel found hard to manage. Her body was ready to go, working hard to bring her baby into the world but Angel wasn't quite there yet. She reflects on how that felt and where she is now.

This week I share my chat with Niamh who talks me through the birth of her three girls. Niamh shares the moment she discovered she was having triplets and what a shock it was. At 29+6 days Niamh felt something was off so was admitted to hospital, she was convinced she would get to 35 WKS but the decision was made very quickly to bring her babies into the world immediately. Each of her girls were brought to NICU under the most amazing team who were ready and waiting for their arrival. Niamh spent some time in HDU following their birth. She also shares the days and weeks that followed with one of her girls in SCBU, one in Crumlin and one at home. She then talks us through having her three girls at home and realising after the birth of her fourth baby, her son, the magnitude of what she went through with the triplets.