Tunstall mum and newborn baby saved thanks to maternity staff at UHNM
A mum of six who suffered a life-threatening complication late in her pregnancy has said she owes her life and that of her newborn baby to specialist teams from University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM).
Caroline Lowndes, from Tunstall, today praised the team calling them her “heroes” after their actions prevented a potentially fatal blood loss due to a ruptured uterus.
The 41-year-old was diagnosed with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), a rare condition where the placenta grows too deeply into the wall of the uterus, and it was while she at Royal Stoke University Hospital’s Maternity Centre that she suffered a ruptured uterus, requiring life-saving treatment from obstetric, gynaecology, anaesthetist, urology, maternity, and pathology staff.
Following the emergency surgery to deliver baby Marleigh by caesarean section Caroline, who was 35 weeks pregnant, spent six days recovering in hospital, while her 5lbs 12.5oz daughter spent six days receiving on the Maternity Centre’s Transitional Care ward.
Caroline and Marleigh were reunited with husband Martyn, 40, and children Thomas, 22, Georgia, 18, Arron, 16, Paige, 16, and Jayden, 10 following the surgery in December last year.
Caroline, a cover supervisor at a local middle school, said: “Following my PAS diagnosis, it was decided it was safest to deliver my baby via a planned caesarean section. I was admitted to the Royal Stoke on the Monday with the procedure scheduled for the Thursday. But in the early hours of Wednesday morning before I was due to go to theatre, I started to experience horrific stomach pains and contractions which became more severe.
“At 3am I woke up, an old caesarean scar had ruptured. The original plan was to perform the caesarean section in interventional radiology (IR), but transferring me to another part of the hospital was too dangerous, so it had to happen there and then in the Maternity Centre’s operating theatre.
“It all happened so fast, but I knew that my baby and I would be OK as the staff had every eventuality covered.”
She added: “When I woke up I was told that my uterus was already open and my abdomen was full of blood. My bladder had also torn and once Marleigh was delivered, I needed a hysterectomy and blood transfusion to save my life.”
Caroline was reunited with Marleigh in recovery after Marleigh received support from UHNM’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and then both spent 24 hours in the Maternity Centre’s High Dependency Unit.
UHNM treats around 10 cases of PAS a year and was designated as one of three PAS provider centres in the West Midlands by NHS England last summer.
One of the first doctors to respond to Caroline’s ruptured uterus was Mrs Saddatu Usman, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology.
Mrs Usman said: “Following previous caesarean sections there is a high risk in future pregnancies that the placenta forms under the scar, and unfortunately in Caroline’s case the placenta did so in the lower part of the uterus in what’s known as a complete placenta previa. PAS was suspected and later confirmed via an MRI scan, and the decision was made for a planned controlled delivery in IR, and Caroline was admitted prior to surgery for observations.
“But the night before she was experiencing severe stomach pains, and we decided that we couldn’t wait until the morning to deliver the baby. Caroline was too unwell to be transferred to another part of the hospital, so we opened the Maternity Centre’s theatre, and the emergency call went out to colleagues including Ms Uma Bathula and Ms Fidelma O’Mahony, my fellow consultants in obstetrics and gynaecology who were on call.
“The team clearly understood Caroline’s plan, so we started the procedure, opening the abdomen to find a lot of blood and the uterus open already. We delivered the baby safely before handing over to urology colleagues to repair Caroline’s bladder.
“Despite it being an emergency situation, our team knew what the steps were and worked together to control the blood loss and safely deliver the baby. Caroline is a strong person who was not left with any ongoing issues.”
Ms Gomathy Gopal, consultant in fetal medicine and placenta accreta spectrum lead at UHNM, said: “We have some extremely talented people in our PAS centre, and I’m grateful to be a part of this team.
“Without one link in this chain it would not exist- from the maternity theatre team who look after all the equipment, to the scrub nurse midwife who do this over and over, the team in NICU who care for the babies so well, to the anaesthetists who look after the patient whilst still giving best outcome for baby. It is their passion, and they all go over and beyond what they are set out to do to provide the best possible service, one I am humbled to have been a part of for the past six years.”
Caroline said: “It’s hard to put everything into words. From the lady cleaning the ward 205 who took the time to talk to me and Martyn, to the anaesthetists and radiographers who comforted me before surgery, MAU, EPAU, my consultants and midwives absolutely everybody was amazing. They saved our lives.
“We felt so reassured and calm coming into hospital knowing UHNM is a placenta accreta centre- knowing you have these specialist skills and experience on your doorstep is massively comforting because you know you’re safe.
“You read things online about other people’s stories and think it won't happen to you but then it does, you think what would have happened if I’d have been at home when my uterus ruptured, Marleigh and I wouldn't be here, we’re eternally grateful to everybody.
“I didn’t think I’d be here to tell my story, it feels surreal. I’m taking each day as it comes and feel really grateful to be here. The Maternity team are heroes. Thank you.”
Caroline’s husband Martyn said: “Without the team Marleigh and Caroline wouldn’t be here today. I felt we were in safe hands, everybody at UHNM was amazing. Thank you to everyone.”
UHNM's Maternity Centre would like to express its thanks to those involved in Caroline's case:
Gillian Hague, Maternity Support Worker
Midwives Emma Hall, Emma Deacon and Alicja Bujak
Dr Vishnu Machineni, Yara Ahmed, Desmond Wilson, Samuel Wadman, Anaesthetic Team
Sakira Kamal, Ahmed Hassan Salama, Obstetric Trainees
Mrs Saddatu Usman Obstetric Consultant
Mrs Uma Bathula, Ms Fedelma O Mahony, Gynaecology Consultants
Mr Lyndon Gommersall, Vinod Murali, Rakhul Raveendran, Urology Consultants
