Llantrisant woman woke from a coma to find her baby had been born

A girl who was positioned in an induced coma after experiencing extreme being pregnant illness has described waking to search out her child had been born.

Atlanta McIntyre, 29, from Llantrisant in Rhondda Cynon Taf, had extreme nausea and vomiting throughout her being pregnant, often known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).

Throughout one episode of vomiting, Ms McIntyre choked and needed to be put into an induced coma by docs.

When she regained consciousness, she found that her daughter had been delivered by caesarean part.

“I used to be very shocked and in disbelief,” mentioned Ms McIntyre.

“I bear in mind telling all of the nurses and my companion that they had been mendacity to me about having had her.”

Illness in being pregnant, usually known as morning illness, is quite common, with eight out of 10 pregnant ladies experiencing signs.

However some pregnant ladies expertise excessive vomiting and nausea, often known as HG, which frequently wants hospital therapy.

In keeping with the NHS, HG impacts about one to a few in each 100 pregnant ladies.

“My illness began early on – from the second I knew I used to be pregnant, earlier than I even took a take a look at,” Ms McIntyre mentioned.

“Round about six weeks, the morning illness actually kicked in. Each morning, I used to be up being sick. The whole lot I ate, I used to be being sick.”

The illness turned so extreme that Ms McIntyre ended up needing repeated hospital therapy for dehydration.

“I could not hold something down. I could not hold remedy down or something like that.

“Individuals stored telling me ‘It will get higher after the primary trimester’ so, after 12 weeks, it’s going to get higher.

“I hit round 14 weeks, and it was nonetheless weirdly extreme to the purpose that I could not hold liquids down.

“That is after they recognized me with HG.

“I used to be forwards and backwards weekly, particularly in direction of the top of my being pregnant, it was every day that I used to be forwards and backwards to the hospital,” Ms McIntyre added.

In February 2024, throughout her twenty ninth week of being pregnant, Ms McIntyre began being sick whereas consuming.

“I mainly choked on [the vomit] and it went straight onto my lungs,” mentioned Ms McIntyre.

Ms McIntyre turned so sick that docs at Prince Charles Hospital, in Merthyr Tydfil, needed to put her into an induced coma on 19 February.

“I used to be in that for a superb 20 hours earlier than they did a caesarean part,” she mentioned.

“Her [the baby’s] coronary heart charge dropped drastically, and so they mentioned to my companion: ‘It is time – now we have to get her out now, in any other case she will not make it’.”

Ms McIntyre’s daughter, Poppy, was delivered prematurely at 29 weeks on 20 February, weighing 3lb (1.4kg).

The newborn was transferred to Singleton Hospital in Swansea to be cared for.

When Ms McIntyre awoke from her coma three days later, she described feeling terrified.

“It was terrifying – not realizing whether or not [Poppy] was OK,” mentioned Ms McIntyre.

“She was intubated and ventilated on the time, and was in a very totally different hospital to me.”

Ms McIntyre’s companion had been visiting her through the daytime earlier than heading to Singleton to spend time with their daughter within the night.

About 10 days after waking from her coma, Ms McIntyre met her daughter for the primary time.

“It was actually scary for us, nevertheless it was superb to see her and see how she had progressed simply in these few days the place I wasn’t round,” mentioned Ms McIntyre.

Now, at 10 months outdated, Poppy resides at house and doing effectively.

• Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is totally different from morning illness, which impacts about 80% of pregnant ladies
• Morning illness causes nausea and vomiting which often improves by the sixteenth or twentieth week of being pregnant
• In contrast, ladies with HG can vomit greater than 50 instances a day and really feel consistently and severely nauseous, considerably interfering with their every day lives
• Issues of HG can embrace severe vitamin deficiency from the extreme vomiting, important weight reduction, dehydration and malnutrition, placing the well being of each mom and child in danger

Ms McIntyre hopes that by talking about her expertise of HG, she will be able to encourage different pregnant ladies experiencing the situation to hunt assist.

“I’d say to different ladies – it isn’t regular to really feel like this,” she mentioned.

“Do not be pushed apart and be instructed it is simply morning illness… I used to be just about just like the strolling useless.

“I used to be dizzy, I used to be torpid, I could not carry my head up, I had fixed complications, I used to be consistently dehydrated.

“I could not hold liquids down. Something I smelt would set me off. I could not eat greasy meals or something like that. I might solely eat bland meals – rice, bread, ginger nut biscuits. That is when it bought actually unhealthy, after I could not even hold that down.

“I did lose plenty of weight throughout my being pregnant. The truth that she was born three kilos amazes me.”