Ashlyn's Story, 28 Weeks
Miracle Mum, Melissa shares Ashlyn's story.
"My husband and I have a large blended family and we were expecting twins (baby 9&10) for the family in 2020. The pregnancy was smooth sailing with no complications until I went into spontaneous labour at 19+5 weeks. I was cooking dinner when I felt some pressure and a really big tightening which doubled me over. I went to the bathroom because I felt like I needed to go and when I sat down on the toilet I partially delivered an intact amniotic sac into my hand. I called out for my husband for help and he rang the ambulance.
Knowing there was nothing we could do for the babies because it was too early, our hearts were shattered. An ambulance arrived and took me to our closest hospital where I was told that one of my twins had passed away and that as soon as they drained my bladder she would be born. On the 14th November 2019 I delivered Olivia Grace born sleeping. I was dilated and contracting and the staff told me that I would soon deliver the second twin. We waited and waited and four days later I was still in birth suite waiting to deliver the baby. So, they decided to do an ultrasound and check on twin B. To everyone’s amazement twin B was doing well. She had a strong heartbeat and was measuring perfect for her gestation. What was even more amazing was that my cervix had closed up! The staff trimmed the umbilical cord from twin A and put a stitch in and told me that there were no guarantees that twin B would get to viable gestation. In fact the odds were pretty slim.
I stayed on bed rest with a range of medications, including antibiotics, to try and stop an infection starting and I had regular weekly check ups for blood tests and observations to listen to baby’s heartbeat. I was told if I could make it to 23 weeks and 5 days that they would transfer me to the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital to see the doctors in the maternal fetal medicine clinic.
At 23 weeks and 5 days I had my first appointment with the MFM clinic and they admitted me straight away where I would stay for the duration of my pregnancy. It was very scary as they told me the statistics for each week and common health problems for babies born at various gestational. I was determined to get to a safe gestation and give my baby the best chance possible. I had a number of complications during the pregnancy and a lot of trips to the birth suite for threatened pre term labour and each time given steroids and a magnesium sulphate infusion.
On the night of the 15th January 2020 it was suspected that I had chorioamnionitis. On the morning of the 16th January 2020 the consultant from the MFM team came to see me and it was decided that we would do an emergency c-section. At 11:02am my little girl Ashlyn was born weighing 1107g and in good condition. She had a strong cry and we got a full minute of delayed cord clamping. She went to the NICU where she went onto cpap on room air.
Her NICU journey was relatively uneventful. She didn’t need much help with her breathing and came off cpap successfully on the 4th attempt. After 65 days in hospital we were able to bring our little girl home. She will be turning one next month and she’s thriving!
Considering she was given an almost zero chance of survival after the birth of her sister she fought to defy the odds. She really is our little miracle and we are so thankful for the gift that is Ashlyn."
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