My Story With Jaundice

Katy and Teddy

Myself and my husband was expecting our first baby on the 4th of August 2016. I started with mild on off contractions that when I look back, I don’t think I had realised it was happening as they were that faint. By 3.15am in the early hours of the 5th of August I started with stronger pains that woke me and my husband. I rang the hospital as I was verging pre-eclampsia and they said for us to come in. Fast forward to a ten hour labour and Teddy was born at 1.10pm.

I soon started with pains that felt like I was giving birth again and got rushed to theatre. I was in a daze and just went along with it all when it could have been fatal. I didn’t see Teddy for four hours until my husband arrived back downstairs with him while I waited to get to the HDU ward. I was in shock and shaking but felt fine and just wanted to hold him. I managed to feed him while he latched on for five or ten minutes before getting rushed to theatre and when I could after getting settled on the ward we feed for what felt like hours. I was exhausted and starving and still a little out of it to think of anything else. It wasn’t until the following morning after many feeds and rarely seeing a midwife as it was 2am when I moved wards again, that the nursery nurse noticed something, many hca’s and midwifes came over to check and soon we were moving again. They quickly told us that Teddy had jaundice and it was within the 24 hours that is more severe. I am so grateful of the team at Sheffield Jessops wing, I had no idea, I was a first time mum and cannot remember a thing about blood cells and jaundice since leaving school. One of the assistants even said she thought he was just that olive colour like myself. They acted so quick to give Teddy the care and equipment he needed. We got taken to a private room where we spent five nights. We were told to undress him and just leave his nappy on while we then watched the team help him into the jaundice cot. They said to not disturb him if we can unless for a feed. He looked so tiny and helpless. My husband said ‘he shouldn’t be in there he’s only a day old’ I could tell he was upset. His tiny little body still having little jerking movements while he was under the lights, going on the sun bed as they said. He was monitored as the day and night went on. I had help with breastfeeding and trying to get him to latch so he could have some good feeds. We had someone come in every so often to take his heel prick test but they always seemed to miss the bloods getting back to the lab in time for testing so, it seemed to go on and on.

Teddy was improving a little and eventually we got his bloods back and we could go home after spending five days in hospital. It wasn’t the bringing him home I thought as it was 10pm at night but we now had him healthy and at home. I will be forever grateful for all the team at Jessops, we had so much help with everything and so grateful they had picked up on this at that stage. We went on to have another baby girl three years later, who also had jaundice.

My Story With Jaundice