"Believe in Miracles, You Are One"

Woo had arrived...

...but she wasn't responding to stimulation. She was whisked away to the resuscitator. The remainder of the birth is in my husband's words as I can't remember much of it. I was in an oxytocin haze and had to continue to deliver the placenta.

Woo received CPR. She also received a shock in an attempt to start her heart. They pumped oxygen into her lifeless body, but she didn't respond. T had to leave to be sick. It was at this point I realised we didn't know the gender of our baby. When T returned we were told we had another little girl. T has since told me that he was thinking about how we were going to have to bury her at this point. He could see the doctors working tirelessly on her. After what seemed like a lifetime, she was taken to the NICU. She was alive, but we didn't know at what cost.

A consultant came to see us several hours later to let us know what had happened. She was alive and breathing, but was on oxygen. She had suffered a severe lack of oxygen to the brain during the birth, and that the next few hours were touch and go. If she made it, it's highly likely she'd be brain damaged to some extent. We went to see her. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. 

She had a bruise on her chest due to vigorous CPR, and tubes just about everywhere they could go. She was a massive 10lb 11oz. They were trying to find a specialist neonatal unit to send her to, but that could be anywhere in the country. Eventually they found a space at Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI). She was strapped in and whisked away.

She made it to LRI safely and without help from extra Oxygen. I was discharged and followed her. The consultant we spoke to was fabulous. He told us that she was undergoing cooling treatment which they hoped would limit any brain damage. This would last 72 hours at which point she would be cooled slowly to minimise the risk of fitting. We had no idea if she would be brain damaged or if she would even survive, but the consultant was happy with her progress. We settled into our 'flat' with noting but the hospital bag we'd packed for the birth. I was shown the room for expressing and storing breastmilk and began straight away. I was more determined than ever that I would breast-fed her, and to express some milk for when she was ready was all I could do for her at this point.

On day 2 of cooling it was decided that she was progressing so well that she could receive some of my breastmilk down a feeding tube, in addition to the glucose drip she was receiving 'nutrition' from. She took it well and could now receive my milk whenever I had some for her. A lovely nurse named Sam showed me how to hand express some colostrum.

When you have a baby in special care you quickly learn to block out the beeping and numbers on the screen. It's easy to get worked up on them. Same with her brain trace. She had an ultrasound on her brain on day 3 which looked clear, meaning major brain damage could most probably be ruled out. Fortunately she coped well with the cooling, and after 72 hours it was time to warm her back up. It would take 12 hours, and we'd have to watch out for fitting, but we were so eager to cuddle her, and feed her. I hoped her sucking reflex hadn't been affected.

The warming up was thankfully uneventful. Finally we got to hold our girl, 4 days after her dramatic birth. And she latched on for her first feed!

We were transferred back to Burton Hospital, where she was first born so that we could get breastfeeding established. We wouldn't know the extent of any brain damage until she began to develop and hit or miss milestones, but we didn't mind. She was alive, and that was the only thing that mattered right now. A lovely nurse at Burton, one who'd helped her on the morning she was born, told me she and her husband had prayed for us on that fateful day. It touched me and is something i'll never forget. When Woo was six days old we were discharged from hospital. Finally we could take her home.

The treatment my baby got at both Queens Hospital, Burton and Leicester Royal Infirmary was second to none. I cannot thank them enough for saving my daughter's life. Modern technology is truly remarkable, as are the skills of the nurses, doctors and consultants. I fully intend to do some fund raising in the future, so look out for that.