Ulverston mum’s praise for staff who saved her – twice
Last updated at 16:43, Thursday, 03 January 2013
A WOMAN who nearly died twice when in labour is adding her support to calls to protect maternity services at Furness General Hospital.
Jill Raven and her husband Iain, who own children’s clothing store Boogles and Bump, in Ulverston, praised the efforts of staff that helped them throughout the birth of their two children.
Mrs Raven said she fears that without the under-threat consultant-led maternity services at FGH, she might not have survived. When her first child, Louisa, was born, complications led to doctors performing an emergency caesarian section.
Mr Raven said staff had been superb in reassuring him while they dealt with the situation.
He said: “They were absolutely fantastic with me and they calmed me down.”
Two years later, during the birth of their youngest daughter, Annie, Mrs Raven said she came close to losing her life for a second time when she suffered post-natal haemorrhaging.
She ended up needing four pints of blood and was scared when she was left so drained she forgot the words to the popular children’s poem The Owl and the Pussycat.
She said: “I said that poem to my eldest daughter every night for the last two years and I couldn’t remember how it went.”
In both cases, the complications occurred at a relatively late stage, requiring immediate action from medical staff.
She said: “Without the systems FGH has in place, I don’t feel I would have made it.”
There are concerns a service review could result in the maternity ward being downgraded to handle only routine cases, with complex births requiring patients be transferred to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary – something Mrs Raven fears could cost lives.
Now the couple, who live in Ulverston but are originally from Walney, are offering their support to FGH and plan to raise money through a regular monthly raffle. They are also planning to donate an organic baby outfit from their store to the first born boy and girl of the year.
First published at 16:08, Thursday, 03 January 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Staff on Labour Ward and Maternity are fantastic. I had an emergencey c/s at 32wks ,as I was very poorly, I basically walked onto Labour Ward one day as I felt that ill within days I had to have a c/s. Afterwards I was still very poorly for day I very nearly died. I witnessed very good teamwork and it was clear they were very dedicated to their job.
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Please have a look and support the "Save FGH Maternity Unit, Thousand voices" on youtube and, if you can, leave your message. We of course will be adding our own soon. They can also be found on facebook, Save FGH Maternity unit.
Posted by Iain Raven on 4 January 2013 at 20:20