Miracle mum Adriana shares Hugo's story:

My daughter Adelaide was born at 31 weeks in 2019, at just over 1kg due to pre-eclampsia and confined placental mosaicism of trisomy 16. Addie was a very sick baby at birth but is now a happy but tiny 5-year-old. It took us a few years to muster up the courage to think about expanding our family. 6 months of trying turned to a year and then a year to two but it wasn’t happening for us. Blood tests and fertility investigations showed nothing abnormal until I underwent an investigative laparoscopy in 2023. As I woke up from the surgery my surgeon told me that my uterus completely adhered to my c section scar and that due to complications from my first pregnancy requiring an emergency c section that it would be too dangerous for me to carry another baby with the risk of the adhesions being too dangerous to the baby to remove during an emergency c section. I was so devastated, I felt like we had already suffered enough back in 2019 during that pregnancy and birth to only be dealt with another massive blow. I was told that IVF at this stage would be irresponsible knowing the risks before me if I did fall pregnant.

I decided I wouldn’t take no for an answer and this gynaecologist told me he would ring around to see who would be able to separate my uterus from my scar. After contacting number of doctors who all declined, he finally found Doctor Danny Chou from Kogarah who saw the images and agreed to give it a go. This was my only chance. One of the most quietly spoken, humble and amazing human beings I have had the opportunity to come across, who changed our lives forever.
I was told the risks of the surgery, robotic adhesion surgery - my bladder could be severed if the uterus was also attached and the uterus may not be able to be freed at all. I was also guaranteed that the adhesions would most like definitely re attach and denser. 2 months after my first laparoscopy I underwent another surgery to free my uterus. Finishing 2 hours earlier than expected, Dr Chou told me that he had successful separated the adhesions and that he had applied methods to try to attempt the re attachment of the c section scar and uterus.

A month after this surgery I was cleared to start IVF. I knew I was fighting against time with the adhesions likely to rejoin in the months following the surgery. At this point it was assumed the uterus being adhered was preventing implantation however I was diagnosed with unexplained secondary infertility and IVF was our best chance.

Doctor Paul Atkinson from Adora fertility was our chosen specialist. Another humble and quietly spoken specialist who was so knowledgeable and professional. At our first appointment he looked at our fertility results and blood tests and said, “when do you want to start”.

3 weeks later our first cycle started at the end of August 2023. I was devastated when the cycle was cancelled due to me having a risk of developing OHSS. We did not get to do a fresh embryo transfer; however, we were able to get 7 fertilised 5-day embryos. Mid-October we underwent our first frozen embryo transfer , to our surprise this cycle was successful and I fell pregnant with baby Hugo.

What was meant to be excitement and happiness, was filled was anxiety and worry after what we went through with the first pregnancy, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was going to have the endure. More complications, however, completely different to what I went through with my daughter.

5 weeks into the pregnancy I was diagnosed with clinical hypothyroidism and put on thyroxine. I was also being treated for chronic high blood pressure and from 5 weeks pregnant I was being managed by an endocrinologist and nephrologist. From 22 weeks I would attend pregnancy day stay at the Royal woman’s Randwick twice a week and undergo blood and urine testing, during the NIPT testing I was given a 1 in 4 chance of developing pre-eclampsia before 37 weeks.

At 18 weeks I passed my first gestational diabetes test. It wasn’t until 28 weeks I was diagnosed gestational diabetes and prescribed insulin. At 30 weeks pregnant I was diagnosed with cholestasis and prescribed bile acid medication.

By this time my blood pressure was being managed by 3 different blood pressure agents all at a maximum dose, methyldopa, nifedipine and labetalol and at times hydralazine. My diabetes was being managed by 2 needles a day and cholestasis by 6 tablets a day. I was consuming 30 tablets for blood pressure and cholestasis and 2 needles, blood sugar testing at every meal to manage the diabetes, daily exercise, high blood pressure and hypothyroidism. I was hospitalised on 4 separate occasions between week 26 and week 37 for suspected pre-eclampsia. By week 34 I was having a mental breakdown. Anxious for every blood and urine test, watching my bile acid numbers at every blood result waiting for it to hit over 100 and preparing and packing for an emergency c section at every hospital appointment. Every new medication would reduce Hugo’s movements and present new side effects for me to psycho analyse.

Despite all the medication, poking and prodding and all the stress my body was under, baby Hugo was growing along beautifully. 4 weeks ahead in size and weight due to the diabetes but he and the placenta remained unaffected by all of my conditions.

By the end of week 36 by blood tests were showing liver function changes but my urine wasn’t showing any protein. As I have chronic high blood pressure, I was not diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. I was booked in for a c section at 39 weeks however I was struggling to manage my medication, mental health, eating and exercise daily.

On the night of the June long weekend I was feeling extremely unwell and presented to the birthing unit about midnight , we lived about an hour away from the hospital. It was their bloods and urine were taken and my blood pressure again skyrocketed. I was admitted and about 7am, the midwife came and told me that I had finally been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, at 37 weeks exactly.

The doctors came in and saw me where I was told to start fasting and that the baby would be coming in a few hours. The doctors knew that preeclampsia would continue to worsen and with the risks of my adhesions they wanted the baby to come out when they had time to divide and remove the adhesions before he was in any distress. To say I was relieved is an understatement. That morning, I just cried and cried, not out of worry, but out of relief that the nightmare that I had just survived for the last 12 months was about to come to an end and I would get to meet my little miracle boy.

I was prepared for a c section and advised a classical c section would occur if adhesions were too dense.
The surgery was uneventful, adhesions were dense but divided and the surgeons remained calm and positive during the entire surgery.

At 2:38pm on the 10th of June 2024 baby Hugo was born, crying and with a full head of hair at 3.315kg. unlike with my daughter who was taken to the NICU straight away and I didn’t hold for 48 hours. I was able to hold Hugo for 20 minutes before he begun going into respiratory distress.

Hugo was admitted to the NICU for 5 days, he underwent feeding and breathing assistance as well as help with managing his blood sugars. We were discharged the following Friday after a week in hospital.

Hugo is 16 weeks old, 13 weeks corrected.
He is a happy and chubby boy, who just loves life and has a smile on his face from the minute he wakes up. By looking at him you would never be able to tell what he has endured.

It was exactly a year from when I was told I could never carry another baby to when Hugo was delivered. We still look at him in awe every day, everything he went through to be here and get here safely. He survived every hurdle that was thrown at him during IVF, my pregnancy and whilst in the NICU. His big sister dotes on him daily and is obsessed with him. He is the definition of a miracle.

Every day I am grateful for the doctors and midwives, most of them also treated me during my first pregnancy and Adelaide’s birth at Randwick. Hugo is here because of all of the support and high-quality care we received during ivf, his pregnancy and his birth.