Image: Connor on the day he came off oxygen.
Every breath taken is a victory for newborn Connor, who was born premature at 30 weeks via emergency caesarean, following his mother Chelsea’s pre-eclampsia diagnosis.
Scheduled to give birth at Frankston Hospital, Chelsea was admitted to the maternity ward after she experienced symptoms of pre-eclampsia, a serious condition of pregnancy, which can lead to serious complications for both mother and baby.
“It was a turn of events,” shares Chelsea. “As the midwives were helping me get my blood pressure under control, my preeclampsia escalated, so it ended up being quite severe.”
“An ultrasound revealed it would be safer for both Connor and I for him to be born early.”
Transferred to a specialist hospital for premature infants, baby Connor was born into the world a week before Christmas, providing an early bundle of joy to his family. However, Connor was unable to leave the hospital, facing concerns about his lungs and a suspected bowel obstruction.
“One of the biggest problems premature babies face is prematurity of lungs,” says Chelsea. “I was told he needed breathing assistance because his lungs weren’t fully developed.”
“He also developed a little gastroenterology problem,” Chelsea adds. “He hadn’t had his first bowel movement a couple of days after he was born, and the doctors expressed their concern but explained it can just be like prematurity of gut and may not be any cause for concern at all.”
“He eventually passed his first bowel movement and that was so exciting – we’ve never been so excited to talk about baby poo before in our life!”
After a few weeks of close monitoring, Connor was transferred back to Frankston Hospital where he was placed on low flow oxygen support which was weaned down gradually.
“Peninsula Health’s Special Care Nursery was so much quieter and relaxed,” says Chelsea. “Everyone was incredible, and so nice.”
After an almost two month stay in hospital, Connor and Chelsea are home, without the requirement for assisted oxygen. Peninsula Health’s Newborn Hospital in the Home service helped ease the transition by providing further observation and care right in the comfort of Connor’s new home.
The program can assist new parents as they step into parenthood by providing advice, reassurance, and regular baby check-ups for seven days post hospital discharge.
“Everything with Connor is slow and steady to win the race, we just need to do everything gradually,” shares Chelsea. “He has regular appointments with Peninsula Health paediatricians, and they’ve said everything’s tracking along really well, which is good.”
To find out more about maternity services at Peninsula Health visit Maternity Services.