Covid put even more strain on parents whose son weighed 1lb 11oz at birth
It was a cruel twist of fate when Lennox Francis tested positive for Covid when his premature son, whose birth weight was just 1lb 11oz, was only 12 days old.
Although he and wife Klaudia had been by their tiny baby’s side within the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital Wishaw every day since his untimely arrival on August 15 at 25 weeks and two days, the positive test meant they had to isolate at home in Plains, Airdrie, and put even more trust than they’d previously invested in the unit’s staff.
Klaudia, 22, enjoyed a text book pregnancy until 23 weeks and four days when she experienced a slight bleed.
On arrival at triage, it was discovered that Klaudia was 2cm dilated.
“I’m a student nurse, so I know 23 weeks is very early,”said first-time mum Klaudia.
“I knew there was a question over whether he would or would not make it. It was a real shock.”
Doctors prescribed magnesium sulfate, which is offered to women whose baby is to be born between 24 and 30 weeks of pregnancy, as it can protect some babies from developing cerebral palsy.
After seven days of bed rest in hospital and seemingly experiencing no contractions, Klaudia was discharged. But five days later, she woke at 5am, covered in blood.
Klaudia arrived at University Hospital Wishaw, where she was found to be 10cm dilated.
The couple’s son, Layton, who was in a breech position, was delivered naturally, feet first, at 8.02am. He weighed 765 grams.
Apart from her time of self-isolation, Klaudia has been with her baby every day at the intensive care unit, where neonatal nurse Charlotte Bose is among the staff who watch him round the clock.
Four days after a smooth delivery, which she puts down to the expertise of doctors, she was showered, packed and ready to go home.
“Being a young mum and a first-time mum, it’s a weird feeling to go home without your baby,” she said.
“We had to get our heads around the fact that he is not going to be with us for another two or three months. His due date is November 26, and we are so hoping to have him by then. It’s one of those things. You can hope for the best, but also be aware of the worst case scenario.
“At the beginning, he had issues. He has been on the ventilator twice. His lungs are not fully developed, but he’s doing really good with his breathing now.
“He had two stage 2 brain bleeds. We hope they will resolve naturally by themselves. He had a scan and they are looking much better, which is a good sign. He’ll get another scan in the next couple of weeks and hopefully, they will be gone.”
Nursing staff encourage Klaudia and 26-year-old Lennox to spend as much time in the unit with Layton as they wish, feeding him and looking after his personal care.
The couple say they feel in charge of decisions relating to their baby’s health, development and care.
“When we can’t be there, the nurses send you pictures, messages and cute videos of Layton, which are very comforting,”continued Klaudia, who says they are in a routine of eating, sleeping and starting over with daily hospital trips.
“At the beginning, I thought we wouldn’t be able to be here at the hospital as much as we are. We can be here any time of the day or night and be here as long as we want, which is amazing.
“There’s definitely a lot of mental support. All the nurses are there if you are needing a little cry. They are good at looking after you, encouraging us to spend time with our baby and hold him.
“It’s a very nice, relaxed environment and, if we have any questions, they are always here to help us with things like handling him.
“As first-time parents, we are overly sensitive. But our feelings are taken into consideration. We get to have our say and we’re always asked what we think. That’s a very important thing for a parent.”