The Pregnancy...
June 2011 we found out we were expecting our second baby, and although apprehensive at doing the baby thing again we were excited to be adding to our little family. For the first few weeks I suffered with severe morning sickness then in July at 11wks pregnant I began having stomach cramps and bleeding. After an agonising night in A&E wondering, we were sent away to "see what happens!" My scan was 2days later, sitting in the waiting room felt like hours when actually only minutes, we we found out the baby was still there but poorly. The baby was believed to have a condition called gastroschisis, and we were referred to a consultant. This is a rare birth defect that affects 1 in 7000 pregnancies, and is when a babies bowels develop outside the abdomen. We were very worried on hearing this news although relieved that the baby was still alive!
Our scan with the consultant was 1 week later, during this scan they confirmed suspected gastroschisis. However they also discovered a large blood clot in my uterus, which may explain the bleeding. I was put on bed rest for the next 5 weeks and told to come back each wk for another scan to check on baby. My next few scans went well, baby was growing well and the blood clot reducing in size. At my 20wk scan the blood clot had gone completely however they then discovered a solid tissue mass behind baby. They were unsure what this was, a few possibilities they gave us were a cyst, a tumour or a twin that had died early in the pregnancy. We were referred to the Fetal medicine department at Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
My first appointment at RVI was Sept 29th. This was one of the worst days of my entire life. We arrived at the hosp and were taken into a scan room, the consultant proceeded to scan me in silence for what felt like hours but was actually only about 30 mins. We were then escorted into a private room by a midwife to wait for the consultant to come and discuss his findings. The consultant arrived and told us he was shocked to be talking to us about this so late in my pregnancy (I was 23wks at this point). He told us I had very low fluid levels and baby had a very short umbilical cord so views on ultrasound were very difficult, but he had managed to do most of checks he needed to. He told us the tissue mass looked like it was a growth connected to the babys face and that he had been unable to see the baby's bladder. He was concerned it may have not developed properly (inside-out and outside abdomen, bladder exstrophy), if so the baby would need to be born and cared for at Great Ormond St Hospital in London!! He also advised that we consider terminating the pregnancy!! We were told to come back a week later so that he could discuss with another consultant.
At our next appointment I was scanned by two consultants, and told as my fluid levels were so low they wanted to inject more fluid in so they could get better views of what was going on. We were told the procedure carries a risk of miscarriage but they needed to do it. After having a huge needle jabbed into my lower abdomen (not a pleasant experience) they injected 300ml of extra fluid into me and got better views of baby. Once again we were taken into a private room, when the consultants came in they confirmed the previous findings from wk earlier. They also told us the hole in baby's tummy where the bowels where coming out seemed quite large and may involve baby's genitalia as they were unable to see baby's sex. One good thing being they think they saw a bladder, and on the inside.
We were told to come back every few wks for scans to check baby's growth. The next few scans were pretty much the same, they confirmed the presence of baby's bladder as such this meant the baby could be born at RVI. We met various members of the paediatric team, from doctors to surgeons, and it was decided I should have an MRI to confirm if the mass was attached to baby or not. My MRI was scheduled for early Dec and being claustrophobic this was not something i was looking forward too. We arrived at the hospital and sat in the waiting area, everytime a nurse walked towards us i felt like throwing up scared that they would call my name. Then the time came, i was called in, i took a deep breath n was taken into the scan room. They explained the procedure and laid me down on the table, strapped lots of things to me gave me some headphones to block out the noise and a panic button to press. I shut my eyes tight shut and was moved into the machine, once inside i made the mistake of opening my eyes. The roof of the machine was literally inches from my face, i started crying, having a panic attack and felt like throwing up. They moved me back out of the machine and tried to calm me down, in the end my partner came in to sit by my head while having the scan. They eventually moved me back in to the machine and proceeded with the scan, the scan lasted 20mins in total, but i still cried/panicked the whole time. (Big wuss, I know!)
My next ultrasound was just before christmas and we got the results from my MRI, they were pretty sure the mass was attached to baby's neck and shoulder. We were told they didn't think the mass was blocking any airways but they couldn't be sure until baby was born. We decided it would be best for baby to be delivered by c-section as we were still unsure what to expect. My C-section was booked for 12th Jan 2012.
My last appointment at fetal medicine was 5th Jan 2012 and we were shown around the maternity ward, theatre and the special care baby unit. I was measured for my surgical socks, given tablets to take the night before my C-Secition and sent home. Only 1 week to go..... or so we thought!!
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