Baby’s early arrival can turn joyous plans into a struggle with peril

Apr 28 2008 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

One premature baby is born every five hours in the UK. Such births often come with potentially life-threatening and life-changing problems. Health Editor Madeleine Brindley spoke to mother-of-twins Bonita Birkett about her experience

WHEN Bonita Birkett was taken into the delivery suite to give birth to her twin girls, she was warned that one of them might not make it. But as Taryn and Darcy prepare to celebrate their seventh birthday next month, they appear to have suffered few or no ill-effects after being born premature.

Bonita, now 39, found she was carrying identical twins during her 12-week scan, and her pregnancy – her first – was, with the exception of morning sickness, unproblematic.

“Everything went fine, right up to the end,” she said. “Because it was a multiple pregnancy I looked up all the additional complications and I’d heard about pre-eclampsia.

“I went for a routine antenatal check at 32 weeks and the midwife became concerned about my blood pressure – it had gone up and she noticed that my face was looking swollen.

“She sent me home and told me not to do anything and told me she would be around first thing the next day to check my blood pressure again.

“My blood pressure was high, but I didn’t feel ill at that point – I’d left work the previous week and I thought it was a combination of that and because I was reaching the end of the pregnancy. I just assumed it was all to do with getting heavier with the twins.”

The midwife was so concerned about Bonita’s blood pressure the following day that she was admitted to Nevill Hall Hospital, in Abergavenny – initially for only a day.

But Bonita, who lives near Monmouth and now runs her own website business dedicated to twins, spent the next three weeks in hospital, because her blood pressure was so high.

“It wasn’t pleasant being in hospital for that long,” she said. “It was the hottest time of the year when I was there – I went in when everyone else was trying to get out of hospital.

“But the staff were absolutely brilliant – at that point I knew the twins would probably be premature and they were really good at explaining all about special baby care and everything else.

“I was allowed home for an afternoon but every time I came back to the hospital my blood pressure had gone up again.

“I had a couple of scares during that time when my blood pressure shot up like a rocket – my head would be pounding and I would feel queasy.

“Each time that happened I would be taken to the delivery suite and monitored.”

It was hoped that Bonita could deliver twins Taryn and Darcy at 36 weeks, a month early, but at 35 weeks her health started to go downhill. “I started to feel quite ill, the morning the girls arrived – I was queasy and my head was pounding. The hospital had builders in and I felt that my head was about to explode.

“I knew something wasn’t right at that point.

“The midwife came round to say good morning and apparently she went straight back to the station and said ‘today’s the day’.

“I was very scared, even though I’d been talked through all the complications, you never know what’s going to happen. I was kind of prepared, but I don’t think anything can really prepare you.

“I was rushed to the delivery suite but my husband Ewart was in Nottingham – he’d rescheduled all his meetings for the beginning of the week. He was able to make it back while the staff were trying to stabilise my blood pressure.

“I really wanted a natural birth but I was told there was a real risk that one of us three wouldn’t make it so I had an emergency caesarian section.”

Taryn weighed 4lb 6oz and Darcy 4lb 7oz – both were tiny and were taken to the special care baby unit in the hospital where they spent the next 24 hours. But although the girls were well, Bonita took longer to recover.

Her blood pressure was monitored throughout the night after the birth and the twins were later brought to their mother’s bedside.

“Like anyone who has had a caesarean section, it takes a few days to get back onto your feet, but once my blood pressure had stabilised, I started to feel a lot better.

“The twins and I were kept in hospital for a week – they were jaundiced and had low blood sugar for a few days, but they soon got that sorted out and they started to put on weight.

“Almost seven years on, both the girls are fit and very, very lively – they have far too much energy.

“They were monitored closely for the first year but apart from the fact they have always been quite small, they have developed well.

“I was so lucky to be where I was when it all happened.

“Even though I spent three weeks in hospital, it was worth it in the end.”