Sydney-based Niamh O’Dowd was visiting family on the Gold Coast in July when she started having contractions. As she was only 25 weeks pregnant she was transported from the Gold Coast to Mater Mothers’ Hospital for specialised care.
Doctors found that Niamh had chorioamnionitis—an inflammation of the fetal membranes due to a bacterial infection. Baby Jenson was also at risk of developing the infection.
Doctors made the decision to give Niamh a magnesium sulphate drip to give Jenson the best possible chance of not developing cerebral palsy. Four hours later, Jenson was delivered by emergency caesarean 15 weeks early.
Mum and baby recovered well over the next few days, but on day five Jenson perforated his bowel and required life-saving surgery. Jenson is now doing well and slowly putting on weight, but there are many more hurdles to face before he will be able to go home.
Niamh said Jenson’s body is fighting hard and it looks unlikely that he will need more surgery. Jenson has chronic lung disease, but is doing well and recent scans showed that he seems to have avoided cerebral palsy. He will need to be tested to ensure he doesn’t develop retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)—a condition that can lead to blindness if untreated—and will need to be able to breathe unassisted and learn to feed without the nasal-gastric tube before he can go home.
But Niamh is positive and pleased with her son’s progress.
“Jenson is in the best possible place to receive the care he needs. The staff have been wonderful and the technology is so modern,” Niamh said.