St Clair Mum shares story of her baby’s premature birth
Merinda May went through every parent’s worst nightmare when her waters broke at 24 weeks. VIDEO: See her incredible journey with her tiny baby girl.
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Merinda May went through every parent’s worst nightmare when her waters broke at 24 weeks.
She gave birth to her beautiful — but premature — baby girl, Georgia, 10 weeks early.
Now she is raising awareness around premature babies.
When Ms May’s waters broke 16 weeks early she had no idea what was going on.
“I just thought my waters had broken and I was going to have to deliver her then,” Ms May said.
Instead she was hospitalised at Westmead Hospital until she went into labour at 30 weeks.
Georgia was immediately rushed off to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) until she was released at 35 weeks.
It was only on being admitted to hospital that Ms May learned she had pre-term premature rupture of the membranes (PROM), which caused her waters to break.
The St Clair mum of two said the hardest part of the experience was the uncertainty.
“The doctors were really worried during the pregnancy and the hardest part was sitting there wondering if you are ever going to get to take your baby home or if you are actually going to deliver her alive,” she said.
“That is the biggest thing; the doctors gave me the statistics of the outcomes given how early my waters broke and the chances of survival.”
Her baby girl defied the odds and one year on is now a happy and healthy toddler who plays with her big sister Isabelle, 2.
The experience has encouraged Ms May to raise awareness of premature births and the NICU and is entering the Walk For Prems fundraiser to raise money for the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation.
“As well as raising money I hope to raise awareness, I had never heard of PROM before I experienced it,” she said.
“It is something that people don’t even know about even if they have had children and a lot of people don’t even know about NICU.”
The Walk For Prems is on Sunday, October 27. To donate visit www.lifeslittletreasuresfundraising.com.au.