Separated for months: Why Qld mum is running 100km

Like many Queensland mums, Amy Beasy had to leave home for months when her son Samuel arrived at just 27 weeks. Now she’s campaigning for change.

Expectant mothers of premature babies are being forced to leave their hometown to give birth, with hospitals in regional areas lacking the equipment needed for the complications that can follow the birth.

Upwards of 26,000 babies are born premature across the country every year and run the risk of suffering higher rates of respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological complications than babies born full term.

But Queensland only has about 60 public neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds, with half of those in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and the rest in Townsville and on the Gold Coast.

The lack of funding for NICUs and special care nurseries is a massive issue, according to Running for Premature Babies founder Sophie Smith.

“When I went into premature labour, I was shocked when I was told that my triplets might need to be airlifted interstate when my waters broke at 24 weeks because hospitals in Sydney initially didn’t have the equipment to support them,” Ms Smith said. “For women in regional and rural parts of the country the situation can be even worse, with families often separated for months.”

Mountain Creek mum Amy Beasy with her children Eloise, 6, Samuel, 16 months, and Lilly, 3. Picture: Lachie Millard

That months-long separation was a difficult hurdle to get over for Sunshine Coast mum Amy Beasy, who at six months pregnant was flown to Brisbane to deliver her baby who was too premature to be born at her home just 100km away.

Ms Beasy said all three of her children were born premature, but her youngest, Samuel, was born the earliest at just 27 weeks.

Her nearest hospital, Sunshine Coast University Hospital, only has the capacity to take babies born over 29 weeks, which meant Ms Beasy was sent in the helicopter to Brisbane, away from her family, where she would spend more than two months.

“I lived in Brisbane for 10 weeks of the 15 that Samuel was in hospital,” she said.

“It was tough, I was separated from my kids for 10 weeks. My daughter, because she also has complications after being born premature, had never had anyone else look after her until I had to go to hospital.”

Samuel Beasy was born premature at 27 weeks.

After Samuel was discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit, Ms Beasy said it was hard to get back to normal after almost two months away from her home.

“It impacts you for a long time. You’re away, there’s extra stress, you’re already so fatigued and it’s so difficult to catch up on that sleep,” she said.

“You just feel a bit more behind the eight ball. It really impacts everything from finances to emotions.”

In September, a young Bargara mother was flown more than 1000km from Bundaberg to Townsville when she was 29 weeks pregnant with twin boys, after all the NICU beds in Brisbane were occupied.

At the time, Queensland Health said it was “not unusual” for women with high-risk pregnancies in regional areas to be transferred to Townsville University Hospital because it was the only level 6 tertiary-referral centre for newborns outside of the state’s South East.

As a NICU nurse herself and a mother of three premature babies, Ms Beasy said she understood better than most why it was so important to focus on improving regional facilities.

“I think most people don’t realise how much of the equipment in NICUs are donated, and the more that’s donated, the more money there is for staff to be upskilled to hopefully then be able to take earlier and more premature babies,” she said.

“And even in cases where they can’t have the baby stay at the hospital, just having the equipment and the staff ready if the baby does happen to be delivered at a rural hospital is going to give that baby a much better chance at life.”

With NICUs and special care nurseries around the country relying on fundraising for up to 70 per cent of their equipment, Ms Beasy said she felt it was her duty to enter the Running for Premature Babies marathon challenge.

She’s set to run 100km in a month, with a goal to raise at least $5000 for equipment to go to help premature babies.

Amy Beasy will run to raise awareness for the Running for Premature Babies Foundation. Picture: Lachie Millard

This includes the special neonatal ambulance that Ms Beasy and Samuel were transported back home in which not only provided a safe, sanitary environment but also gave them special photos and a memorable return to normalcy.

“You don’t have a normal experience with a premature baby. You don’t get the going home outfit, I didn’t even hold Samuel for the first week of his life. So to have those little milestones happen in the end is really special,” she said.

Ms Smith said the Premmie Marathon Challenge would raise much-needed funds for vital equipment, particularly to help rural and regional mums.

“We are aiming to raise $500,000 to help pay for equipment like humidicribs, ventilators, neonatal monitors and ultrasound machines – equipment that quite simply saves lives,” Ms Smith said.

“Some humidicribs are so incredibly sophisticated and technologically advanced they allow babies needing surgery to be operated on from within the humidicrib, without the need to be transferred to an operating table.”