County Tyrone mum Róisín Doherty has opened up about the struggle of welcoming her child prematurely.
Roisin's son Brodie was born at 33 weeks after a difficult pregnancy, and she has spoken of how terrifying it was to give birth and have him immediately taken to the neonatal unit.
Roisin, who is an online content creator, was kept in the hospital for 13 days and had to go home afterward without Brodie.
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Speaking to RSVP Live, Roisin said: "There were very serious problems with my pregnancy from very early on. I was actually originally taken in at 27 weeks to have Brodie, and the survival rate statistics at that age aren't ideal. I was gowned up ready to go in for an emergency section because things were looking really bad.
"Thankfully, they gave me a check at the last minute just to confirm that it was the right thing to do, because the best thing for the baby when possible is to stay in the womb developing. When they looked, they said things were looking good and they wouldn't be sending me in to have the baby, but I would need to stay in for regular checks."
Brodie managed to hang on until 33 weeks, and then he was born via caesarean section. Because he was still very premature, he was immediately taken to the neonatal care unit.
"There's no skin to skin or holding them or anything like that," said Roisin. "After he was born, I actually took really unwell too. I remember I was crying hysterically and my partner Nick wasn't with me because he had gone along with Brodie to the neonatal unit.
"It's such a surreal feeling, because one minute you have this bump and a baby inside you, the next minute you've not even met this baby. It's not the same as a normal birth, they're taken away and you don't know where your child is, whether they're alive or dead."
When Roisin was taken to her ward, she was struggling with the fact she was surrounded by mums with their new babies.
"All night long I could hear hear new mummies and all of these babies crying and I was sitting in this ward with no baby," she recalled.
Roisin was in hospital for 13 days and deeply struggled with not being able to have Brodie with her all the time.
"If you haven't seen your newborn child in a couple of hours, things can change and they can have leaps and you haven't been there to see it," she said. "But those nurses are angels on earth. Brodie had so many mummies when he was born because they were all looking after him!"
She praised the nursing staff for their regular updates on how he was doing and photos of him, but because things can be so touch and go with premature newborns, they couldn't give her any indication of when the family could take him home. Roisin recalled how hard it was to be discharged from the hospital and go home, leaving her son behind.
"It's a very surreal feeling driving away from a hospital that your baby is sitting in," said Roisin. "You don't know whether you're going to get a phone call in the middle of the night to come down because something is wrong."
Thankfully, the very next day after she was discharged, Roisin was told she could bring Brodie home. He is healthy, happy and thriving.
This World Prematurity Day (17 November), Pampers wants to empower Irish parents to feel confident to touch their premature babies to enable essential moments of bonding.
Pampers is committed to the healthy and happy development of every baby born in Ireland, and since 2017 Pampers has donated almost one million of its Premium Protection nappies to premature babies in Irish hospitals across the country, and will continue to do so, ensuring every baby gets access to the nappies they need.
They have partner with Roisin to help raise awareness of Pampers Preemie Protection nappies by sharing her prematurity experience.
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