real life
The word 'premature' can strike fear into the heart of parents to be. But here, 28-year-old Ashleigh Beattie, whose babies were born at only 32 weeks, tells MM how potential tragedy turned to joy…
that there were two sacs. We were so pleased to find out so early and some people don’t find out until the 20-week scan. My pregnancy was good up to 17 weeks
Two tiny lives I
knew that I was having twins at my twelve-week scan – the first one. From the moment we looked at the screen my husband and I could clearly see
when I experienced a couple of bleeds. I was admitted to hospital but no one seemed to know why the bleeds had happened. My pregnancy continued until the 31-week mark when, on the fiſth day of that week my waters broke and I developed sepsis, which is life threatening, so the boys had to be delivered by Caesarean section. Dylan was born first weighing 3lbs 10oz
and was immediately put onto antibiotics. Ethan followed weighing 3lbs 6oz and it was immediately obvious that he was very sick. Ethan was put onto a high-frequency ventilator, which hadn’t been used before at the Ulster Hospital but, at 5am the next morning, my husband Robert and I were called by the consultant and told that Ethan was deteriorating. Tey were giving him 100 per cent oxygen, but it still wasn’t enough. Tey were basically puffing up his lungs to keep him breathing. On the Monday, the consultant called
Robert and me in again and told us that while, aſter 48 hours, a baby’s lungs should be producing lubricant, Ethan’s weren’t. We should, he said, expect the worst. Naturally we were devastated but, only an hour later, our devastation turned to optimistic – but guarded – joy when he were told that Ethan had started to breathe on his own. Te doctors were then able to set the machine that it could let him breathe on his own or could breathe for him if he needed it to. Ethan was moved to the intensive care
unit (ICU), where he stayed for a week and was then taken to the special care unit. Dylan, meanwhile, spent five days in ICU
26MODERNMUM
because he was experiencing brachycardia, which meant that his heart rate would drop and then go up again. He was, however, continuing to thrive. Ethan’s condition, on the other hand,
continued to go up and down. His lungs kept filling with fluid and he was on and off oxygen. Aſter seven long weeks we were finally allowed to take Dylan home and, even more amazingly, two weeks later we had both of our sons home. I have to admit that, although it was brilliant to have both babies at home, we were very nervous and anxious. I actually asked if I could take a monitor home with me!
“It took a long time for me to connect with them and feel that they were mine. I felt like I was looking at somebody else’s babies. Te doctors think I had put up a guard and that I didn’t want to connect emotionally with them because I thought they were going to die”
Having spent between eight and nine
hours a day sitting in the neo-natal unit for seven weeks, I realised very quickly that I was well-versed in the routine and in what the boys needed and so gradually I grew in confidence. Te boys are now four months old and
they’re an absolute joy. Dylan now weighs 11lbs, with Ethan a lighter – but healthy – 9lbs 11ozs. Te great news is that they’re both off all medication now. Ethan and Dylan are not identical twins
but they have very similar personalities. If one cries the other one will cry in sync! It’s quite bizarre. Tey both have an intolerance
cow’s milk, so we had a bit of trial and error finding the right milk for them, but we’ve sorted that out now. Since I had the boys I’ve discovered that
premature babies run in my family! My granny had her first baby at 32 weeks and my mum had my brother at 32 weeks, so my mum knew exactly how I felt when the boys were born. Although the boys are both healthy now
– for which we’re eternally grateful – I don’t know if I could go through with another pregnancy – particularly since the doctors have told us that there’s a high chance of having another set of twins. I would still like to have another pregnancy simply to have the experience of labour and birth and to see what it feels like to connect immediately with a baby. Because I had the Caesarean
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