NEC UK is honoured to share the stories of people impacted by Prematurity & Necrotising Enterocolitis. This is Emily's story delivering her triplet girls at 25+1 weeks!
In April 2014 we were delighted to find out we were pregnant with triplets but we quickly learnt a triplet pregnancy was never going to be straight forward. In August 2014 I went into labour at 24+5 weeks. Our local hospital could not care for babies that small so I was transferred to the only hospital with three cot spaces available which was far from home. They managed to delay the labour until 25+1 weeks when they were born weighing 676g, 624g and 656g. They all seemed to do well initially and after two weeks I finally had skin to skin with baby number one which felt amazing. However early the next morning we got a call from the doctor to come in as she was very unwell. They suspected it was nec and she started antibiotics. From that moment on our Nicu journey seemed like a complete rollercoaster of ups and downs of multiple blood transfusions, scans, x-rays, brain bleeds, ROP, laser surgery and more. Baby one seemed to get better but as soon as she fed again she became poorly and the cycle of antibiotics would start again. After 9 weeks in hospital we had finally got to the stage where the doctors were discussing our girls being transferred back to our local hospital when baby one became very poorly again. It was decided she needed to be transferred to another hospital for surgery. After nine weeks in hospital this was our lowest moment, miles away from home with our babies now in separate hospitals and one of them seriously ill. On 8th November 2014 our tiny baby had surgery where they found a structure in her bowel from nec, which was removed. It went as well as it possibly could and it was from this point on that our baby began to thrive.
On 3rd December they were all transferred back to our local hospital where they continued to thrive. On 22nd December 2014 after a long 118 days in hospital our babies all got to come home together, just in time for Christmas. Baby one was the only one to come home on oxygen and was only on it for a couple of months.
Since then they have thrived, looking at them now as happy and healthy 6 year olds you would never believe the struggle they went through in those early days.
When our journey began I would frantically search the internet for any stories so I hope that that this brings some hope to anyone in a similar situation.
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