My Story Of A Baby With Gastroschisis

I was just 17 and living in South America when I found out I was pregnant. I was young, but overjoyed By the news. I always wanted to be a mum. The pregnancy at first was going OK. I had severe morning sickness which made my face turn purple nearly every morning, but other than that, everything was OK! I attended every single appointment and scan and took all the vitamins I was given and changed my diet entirely to be the healthiest I possibly could be for my baby.

At around 24 weeks of pregnancy, I went to a scan and everything seemed fine, Her heartbeat was strong, the baby seemed to be growing OK, but the doctor mentioned that there was some kind of lump near the baby's bellybutton. He didn't seem concerned and reassured me that it was just an umbilical hernia and that I had nothing to worry about and this was something very simple that could be fixed at birth. It wasn't great news, but the doctor seemed confident, so I felt calm. I had to put my trust in the "professional". I continued with regular scans with the same doctor who told me the same thing every time, told me I had nothing to worry about.

My baby was due in July. I attended what I thought would be my last scan at the beginning of July and the same doctor I had seen throughout my whole pregnancy told me I was now due in September. I was confused. I knew for a fact I had already been pregnant for nearly 9 months. I explained this to the doctor, but he dismissed everything I was saying and told me he knew how far along I was and that my baby was due in September. I left feeling very confused and was even double-checking my previous pregnancy notes and calendar to make sure I wasn't being silly. I double-checked everything and I knew I was right! I had been pregnant for almost 9 months! there is no way i was due in September. It took all the trust I had from this doctor, so I got home and started looking online for a new doctor. I booked another scan for another doctor only 2 buildings away from the previous one. They didn't have any appointments until the following week, but I booked the first one that was available.

At the new scan, I explained to the new doctor that I had been told my baby had an umbilical hernia and explained the situation regarding how the doctor had somehow changed my due date. She had the same reaction any good doctor would and looked at me puzzled and said, "Let's just take a look to see what's going on." The silence in the room felt like a lifetime. I knew something was wrong. The silence didn't feel right. She put the probe from the machine down and her and the other lady in there just looked at me. I thought they were going to tell me that my baby had no heartbeat. She started telling me that she saw something abnormal on my scan and that the baby's intestines were not inside of her belly, they were on the outside. She put the probe back on my belly to show me and that's what I saw. My baby with what looked like a pile of sausages on her belly. They explained that the so-called "hernia" the previous doctor had seen was actually a tiny bit of intestine hanging out, but during the time from my last scan to this one, all of them had come out, the baby's heartbeat was still strong, but she was so small (this is why the previous doctor thought she was due later). They told me to go to the hospital immediately and get seen. They said this baby would need to come out as soon as possible! I couldn't believe how my previous doctor had missed all of this and how i wouldn't be in this situation if he had done his job properly.

Fast-forward to being at the hospital. I had to wait 2 days before the c-section could be performed. Natural birth wasn't an option at this point. They said it could damage the intestines, and she had to come out via C-Section only. I had to wait those 2 days so that they could plan her surgery. I had multiple scans during those 2 days, and they weren't like my previous ones. One of these scans, I remember lying on the bed whilst a doctor stood there beside me poking my belly around with the scanning machine and around 6 other doctors were there pointing to the big screen in front of me. They spoke for ages. One of the consultants came up to me to explain their surgical plan, He was using super long medical terms and every single word that he said to me just went straight out of my head. The only question I had was, is my baby going to be OK? He was honest with me and said, at that point, it's 50/50. Not what I wanted to hear.

The morning of my C-Section came. Everything was the standard way to prepare for a c-section. I felt calm considering everything that was happening. I laid on that table numb and surrounded by surgeons, feeling my body move around but not feeling any pain. I remember at that point my head went crazy! My body was cut open, my baby was going to arrive and not only that, but my baby was going to be taken from me to have surgery. I didn't know if she was going to be OK. My thoughts got the better of me and I started to panic! I started crying and started being sick. One of the doctors beside me held my head to the side so that i didnt choke on my own vomit, she was holding a sick bowl next to me. I started feeling dizzy and my blood pressure dropped dramatically, and I blacked out. I don't remember anything after that moment until I woke up somewhere else and was told my baby had been taken to surgery. I hadn't even seen her and I still couldn't feel my legs.

Hours later, after waiting and being stuck in my own thoughts for what felt like the longest time ever, an older woman came round to tell me that the surgery went well. They managed to get all her intestines back in via her belly button, they had put them into some kind of sac and managed to get them all back in. They had removed her appendix in the process also to avoid future complications, but everything was fine. Unfortunately, I didn't get to even meet my daughter until the next day. I was almost passing out every time I tried to stand. The next morning they took me down to see her in a wheelchair. She was tiny. They explained to me that she was little because of her complication. She had stopped growing at around 6 months of pregnancy. She had tubes fitted to help her breathe and also a feeding tube. It isn't a sight that any mother wants to see her baby in, but I was just happy she was here and OK.

The distinctive smell of the ICU was something I'll never forget or the cleaning routine I had to do on my hands and arms every time I went in there. I couldn't hold my baby until she was around 3 weeks old, so the first 3 weeks were me sitting there next to her looking at my surroundings. The other babies, wondering why they were in there and if they any of them had the same thing as my baby. one child had an extra large crib that was in an isolation room with loads of tubes and no one could go in there. I got a glimpse of that child once, and she wasn't a little baby. She was at least 1 but slept all day. I often think about what was wrong with her and if she's OK now.

At around 4 weeks old, I was starting to see more improvements. She was now breathing by herself, and they said it was time to try and feed her myself. I went down the next morning as usual and saw my daughter wasn't there! I went into panicked mood! My brain instantly said, something bad had happened. Where is my baby? I went rushing over to the nurse's station, and before I had a chance to say anything, a nurse came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder with the biggest smile on her face and said Good morning! Your daughter has been moved to the other side now! She started walking and turned back, gesturing to me to follow her. We got to the other side and there she was, my baby, in a normal baby crib, no wires or tubes, just a little baby asleep in the crib. For the first time, I got to hold my baby properly and then the nurse helped me try to breastfeed her. I had been pumping milk daily for her to feed through the tube, but now I could finally do it myself. Only one more week passed and I got to take my baby home. 5 weeks old and I finally got to take her home! She had regular checkups and was always ok after that, It did became clear after a year that she would never have the "usual-looking" belly button, but she was OK and thriving and that is all that mattered!

Still to this day i feel utterly shocked how the whole situation could have been avoided if that doctor had done his job the right way! My daughter is now 11 years old and has had no further complications regarding this situation. Her belly button has never looked like your typical belly button but the scarring has become less noticeable over time.