A mother and her newborn baby who both needed life support at the same time were able to have their first physical contact thanks to caring staff at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
This extremely rare event where both mother, Helen and her newborn daughter, Maeve needed the help of ventilators to breathe, led to a touching moment where clinical staff brought them together for Helen to have her first skin-to-skin contact with her newborn daughter to help bond despite both still requiring intensive care.
Helen has a rare condition called Myasthenia Gravis which can cause muscle weakness and shortness of breath. In this case some of Helen’s antibodies appear to have crossed to Maeve who had to be admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital very shortly after birth with weakness and breathing difficulties.
At first Maeve required some basic breathing support, but her condition worsened and she needed intubation and ventilation – procedures where a tube is inserted to open the airway and then a machine is used to help the patient breathe.
Shortly after delivering Maeve, Helen’s condition also deteriorated and doctors had to admit her to the Intensive Care Unit for intubation and ventilation to help her breathe as well. Due to her condition, Helen couldn’t visit Maeve in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and so hadn’t been able to hold her newborn daughter.
As Helen and Maeve both remained stable on their ventilators, the neonatal team at Worcestershire Royal Hospital worked out a plan to transport Maeve using a Neonatal Transport Incubator with a ventilator to the adult Intensive Care Unit to be by her mother’s side.
When Maeve arrived in the unit, staff were able to place her on her mother’s chest for their first skin-to-skin contact, with husband and father Justin watching on alongside Helen’s parents.
A couple of days later, thanks to great teamwork and flexibility from both departments, staff were also able to bring Helen to visit Maeve in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit whilst both were still on ventilators. In between this time, staff took photos of Maeve and placed them around Helen’s bed for her to see and even used iPads to give Helen a FaceTime video call with her newborn baby.
The Consultant Paediatrician in charge of Maeve’s care, Dr Paul Watson said: “To my knowledge neither our team or the Intensive Care team have ever encountered a situation like this before. We knew Helen had not seen her baby daughter due to them both being so poorly. We were desperate to find a way to get them together somehow – I’m lucky to work with a team that truly went above and beyond to ensure that happened. Maeve is now off respiratory support and whilst she is still needing some support with feeding we expect her to make a full recovery.”
The Consultant in Intensive Care in charge of Helen’s care, Dr Mike McAlindon said: “I am pleased to say that after five days on a ventilator, we were able to discharge Helen from Intensive Care. She has responded well to treatment for her underlying condition, and the prognosis is good for her condition in the future.”
Helen’s husband and Maeve’s father, Justin said: “From day one, the doctors, nurses, and entire team made us feel supported and cared for – not just Maeve, but us as her parents too. Whether it was explaining every little detail or just offering a reassuring smile when we needed it most, they turned a scary time into something filled with compassion and strength. We’ll always be grateful.”
Helen has now been discharged as medically fit and is doing well. She is now able to visit Maeve in the Neonatal Unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital while Maeve continues to be monitored.
