Pregnancy can be a very difficult time but when you go into labour and are a 140-mile round trip away from your house, it can only add to the stress. This is what Ellie Davies from Milford Haven faced before giving birth to her triplets.
When Ellie became unwell while she was in the maternity ward of Carmarthen’s Glangwili Hospital, staff rushed to look for space in a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This turned out to be nearly thirty miles away in Singleton Hospital where a bed was made available for Ellie, and onside accommodation for her fiance, Craig Butland.
Ellie: “I had pre-eclampsia and was taken to Glangwili, my blood pressure was going up and down. They had to ring around hospitals with a NICU to see if they had any spare beds – Singleton was the only one with space.”
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Mia, Isla, and Elsie were born two months early.
However, she had further medical issues to deal with, as Ellie explained: “I was moved to Swansea on November 12 and was on the antenatal ward for a week. Then, on Sunday 17, my kidneys became affected by the pre-eclampsia and I was going into renal failure.” For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here
Ellie needed to have emergency surgery to deliver her three baby girls, but could only meet one of them before they had to be rushed for further care. She said: “I then had an emergency C-section in the early hours of the Monday morning (November 18) and the girls were delivered two months early.”
“They all went to the neonatal intensive care unit straight away. I only met Isla, the middle triplet, for around two minutes before she was taken to neonatal to be with her sisters,” she added.
Of her daughters, Mia was born weighing 2 pounds 9 ounces, Isla 2 pounds 10 ounces and Elsie 2 pounds 8 ounces. All of the girls are over three pounds now but had to spend nine days in the NICU.
The babies initially needed support with their breathing, but they are currently being looked after at Glangwilli special care and are doing “really well”. Having now spent their first Christmas together with their daughters, the couple are grateful to the staff that helped them.
Ellie said: “The staff were fantastic – we want to thank everyone who was part of our care, prior to the birth we would like to thank midwives Louise and Emily who were amazing and we really appreciated all the support and care they provided us in the run-up to theatre and the birth. They answered any queries we had and, as we were first-time parents as well, they were really supportive.
“We’d like to say a special thanks to Dr Sree Nittur because he was there when the girls were delivered and he followed up, every day he was working he would come and see us. Lastly, the nurses in neonatal were absolutely fantastic and we can’t thank them all enough for the due care and attention they provided our beautiful daughters.”
The couple were faced with another problem as Craig needed a place to stay while Ellie was in a hospital bed and his daughters in NICU or would have had to face the near 140-mile round trip from their Milford Haven home. Luckily, he was able to stay at one of the properties on Cwtsh Clos, a row of five houses on the Singleton Hospital site that are offered to families with babies in NCU who do not live nearby.
The babies initially required support for breathing but now all weigh over three pounds. -Credit:Swansea Bay University Health Board
Ellie said: “Craig spent a week in Cwtsh Clos and I joined him for the final night. It was a huge help, having Craig so close, I was so grateful for that. It’s one problem that you absolutely don’t have to think about. It’s just nice to have that space to step away from the hospital and be able to gather your thoughts and get your headspace back.”
The pair have shared their story to help support Swansea Bay Health Charity’s Cwtsh Clos appeal, which aims to raise £160,000 to refurbish and re-equip the homes. Ellie said: “We would encourage everyone to support the Cwtsh Clos campaign as it’s such a worthy cause.”
Lisa Harris, interim matron for neonatal services, said: “Myself and the rest of the team at Singleton are delighted to hear that the three girls are doing so well and that Ellie and Craig felt supported during their stay.”
“It’s really important to us that we work closely with parents in the care of their newborns. For families who live far away like Ellie and Craig, Cwtsh Clos allows parents to be close by to spend time with their babies and help the team here at Singleton give the very best care,” she said.
NICU consultant, Kate Burke, said: “Triplets area rarity for us. We serve families across the whole of south central and south west Wales – we are often the unit that people turn to when pregnancies are more complicated and need a specialist level of care. It’s lovely to be able to care for families like the triplets and to keep them as close to home as possible and then to be able to have good relations to which they go back to be cared for. I’m sure they will have a fantastic and very busy first Christmas at home.”