Marnie's Story
October 2005
I have just given birth to a beautiful baby boy. However, I climbed many mountains throughout my pregnancy. It all started when my partner tested positive with the CF gene. This meant that there was a 50% chance of our baby having CF.
After two years of trying naturally I didn’t fall pregnant, so after many tests we decided to use assisted conception. I had a procedure called IUI (intrauterine insemination). This was because the mucus in the cervix didn’t thin out during ovulation and the sperm couldn’t get through. Against small odds, it worked first time! On Christmas Day 2004 I knew I was pregnant. Merry Christmas! Now I had to wait another nine weeks before our baby could be tested to see if he/she had CF. At 11½ weeks I had CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling) which is a test which involves the passage of a needle into the placenta in order to withdraw a few small fragments of tissue (chorion) into a syringe. Waiting for the results was the hardest week of my life. Luckily it was all clear. Our baby is a carrier of the CF gene but does not have CF.
Now it was all up to me to take care of myself. In March I ended up in hospital for three weeks. I wasn’t very well and my obstetrician was hoping that I would make it to 32 weeks gestation. I was also told that I would probably have to deliver by caesarean. I prepared myself mentally for the pain of surgery and physiotherapy and coughing. At 18 weeks I was tested for gestational diabetes. Unfortunately I had it. Now I had to deal with insulin injections and blood sugar testing on top of everything else. I was told the diabetes would probably go away after the birth.
From 20 weeks I had to attend the CF clinic EVERY Friday. I had to see the respiratory team, the endocrinology team (for my diabetes) and the obstetric team. I was not too happy about going to the hospital so often, but now realise that seeing the doctors every week enabled me to stay healthy and reach 35 weeks gestation. My doctors thought I would be back in hospital sooner rather than later, but three months on I was still going strong at home. At 32 weeks I got the flu and had a ten day hospital admission. It was then that I was told that I had acquired MRSA. This couldn’t be treated as the drugs they use were unsuitable for use during pregnancy. My doctors were not too concerned, however, because I wasn’t unwell with it.
I had now passed the 32 week mark and was determined to go as far as possible. At 35 weeks my obstetrician called and wanted me to come to hospital for antibiotics before the birth. I was doing so well he was confident that I could have a vaginal birth. On the Wednesday night I was induced. I couldn’t sleep that night – I was scared, excited and anxious about what was ahead the next day. Thursday morning my waters were broken and after a few pushes my baby was born at 7.30pm at 35 weeks and 5 days. Unbelievable. I did it!
After everything I went through, it was worth it. Just to hold my baby and see him staring back at me. It is clear that my baby was meant to be and I was meant to be a mother.
