On World Premature Baby Day 2021, we talk to Emma - Mum of triplets about her experiences
Let me introduce Emma, Mum of non identical triplets Owen, Eliza, and Harrison, who are now 3.5 years, and thriving despite their early arrival. Emma shares her story with us on World Premature Baby Day.
Emma did you know that you would probably have early babies?
Yes, as this was triplet pregnancy, as with all higher order multiple births, premature labour was anticipated.
Did they come as planned?
No, the plan was to reach 35 weeks minimum and then have an elective section. However, I went into pre-term labour at 28 weeks and again at 31 weeks, both times I was admitted to hospital and very luckily my labour was stopped with medical intervention. I was also fortunate to be given steroids at the 31 week mark to strengthen the babies lungs.
Tell us what happened?
I was 2cms dilated and in slow labour for about two weeks but at exactly 34 weeks, while getting out of the bath, my waters broke. It was snowing and ambulance demand was high, so the journey to hospital seems like a blur, how their dad didn’t get a speeding ticket is beyond me! I was booked in and told I would be monitored but the monitor showed close contractions. I’d been on Tinzaparin injections, so there was a reluctance to deliver unless necessary but then I began to haemorrhage and all in a flash I was on the operating table and three babies were delivered.
There were 31 staff present in that theatre and I struggle to recall a single face but I vividly remember my tiny babies being rushed past in incubators, with Neonatal Care Teams alongside. I spent hours in recovery due to concerns for blood loss but finally after about 5 hours, I was able to be taken on a trolley to meet my babies. As they lay there in incubators, wires tubes and machines surrounding them, the overwhelming feeling of fear and uncertainty hit.
It sounds like a rollercoaster of emotions?
A roller-coaster in an understatement, nothing prepares you for birth, nothing prepares you for an emergency delivery and no amount of preparation can help you to accept premature birth. The hardest part for me was trying to recover myself while separated from the new lives I’d created and with two out of three babies breach, my incision was from hip to hip, making rest and recuperation vital. I ended up needing 8 days in hospital before I was deemed medically optimised for discharge.
Whats the one thing that you weren't prepared for?
My babies ended up being split up, with my daughter taken to another special care unit in another hospital due to incubator demand. I only got to meet her for a few mins before she was packaged up and shipped off. It was 3 days before she could return to the same hospital and although I was permitted one visit to her hospital, I had to nominate a family member to visit and care for her in my absence. It was also 6 days before my babies could be reunited with each other, something I hadn’t considered but after growing together in my womb, being separated and alone must of felt surreal for them. The photo above is when they were reunited.
What was going home like?
Going home was terrifying, they still seemed so small, so precious and I was terrified that I wouldn’t manage the competing needs of three babies but also the additional considerations of weight management in premature babies, navigating transportation of three infants or the additional challenges of severe reflux, weakened immune systems or the potential of delayed development. I still cannot recall how I survived or how they managed to thrive but there is this undeniable strength, unconditional love and commitment that comes with parenthood, that no mountains we faced were ever going to stop us climbing.
Did you receive much help and support?
The staff in the hospital were amazing, from domestics to neonatal consultants, each person made me and my babies feel loved, cared for and supported. On the other hand, family visited to complete their usual ‘mandatory baby meeting’ and to take those all important pics to share of my children but the novelty soon wore off and only a very select few continued to be a regular presence.
What advice or top tips would you want to give other parents in a similar situation (well maybe not with triplets!)
Look after yourself too! Your baby/babies need their parents at their best. I packed a suitcase for me and for them and I included all all favourite snacks/toiletries/my own hair dryer and it made me feel so much more human. I think trust the Neonatal teams too, they really know what they are doing and they know what is best but also don't be afraid to question, curiosity always helps to settle any anxieties.
Emma, thank you so much for sharing your story and images with us, I think anyone who reads this will be in awe of how you manage with three babies, but they will also see how much they are thriving. Well done and thank you!! Tina
