Mum reveals heartbreak of having a premature baby in lockdown

But parents in 2020 now have the additional worry of a global pandemic to contend with, which has affected everything from who's allowed at the birth to when hospital restrictions allow them to see their baby.

When Ellie Lovelock welcomed her second child into the world he was a tiny 1 lb 15 oz.

Joshua spent the first 10 weeks of his life in three different neonatal intensive care units, and now mum Ellie has shared her radically different experience of giving birth to a premature baby during lockdown.

From the word go Ellie says her pregnancy was tough after her and her husband suffered a missed miscarriage last September.

Ellie and husband David from Rooksdown discovered last September at their 12 week scan that their baby had no heart beat.

When the couple found they had fallen pregnant again they were overjoyed but filled with fear.

Ellie explain: “When we went for the 12 week scan with our previous pregnancy we found out our baby had no heartbeat.

“As soon as I then found out that I was pregnant this time instantly, like anyone falling pregnant after a loss, you worry what if it happens again.

“And then Covid happened and my husband could no longer come to the scans.

“At our last scan we got the worst news you can get and then this time I had to go by myself.”

David, Ellie, Noah and Joshua

Fortunately this time the baby was healthy but at week 21 Ellie developed pre-eclampsia.

Over the next few weeks she was in and out of hospitals on her own for appointments and regular scans, a period which Ellie described as “terrifying”.

When she attended an appointment on June 30 consultants noticed her blood pressure was high despite already being on medication.

Ellie was kept in hospital for five hours undergoing regular observations and a decision was taken to keep her in overnight.

On the morning of July 1 consultants told Ellie nothing was imminent, but informed her that they may have to deliver the baby at around 32 weeks.

By the afternoon scans showed the baby's oxygen levels were low and the decision was made to deliver Joshua immediately.

“I remember calling my husband and I was just hysterical.

“He was actually due to come up that day to see me because it was our wedding anniversary and my mum was coming to our house to look after Noah, our toddler.

“I remember calling him and saying you still need to come up but please can you bring my bag with everything in it because baby is coming today.”

Ellie praised Basingstoke hospital for allowing her husband David to stay throughout the whole labour and be with her and baby till around 11 PM that evening.

After spending two days at Basingstoke hospital Joshua and Ellie were transferred to Southampton as Joshua needed a higher level of care than Basingstoke could provide.

The mum of two said the next few days she spent in hospital were “horrible” and “lonely”.

“I was so torn whether I wanted to be discharged from hospital because I was so desperate to get home to see my toddler but I didn’t want to leave Joshua.

“When you leave the hospital you are meant to leave with your baby.

“It’s so unnatural to leave, not be pregnant but also not have your baby with you.”

The next few weeks were a ‘daze’ for Ellie as her and her husband made the hour-long trip each day to visit their poorly baby.

Hospital restrictions meant they were only allowed to visit for a few hours each day at designated times.

The couple were unable to see their son together as Covid restrictions only permitted one parent in at a time.

“I was so reliant on my husband being there to take information from the doctors because they would tell me and it went straight out of my head.

After two weeks baby Joshua was then transferred to Winchester which Ellie said was much easier as visiting hours were more lenient.

At 10 weeks old he was ready to come home with the support of oxygen, which he will be on until spring.

The 15-week-old is doing well and is now weighing in at 6 lbs 10 oz.

But even though Joshua is home his loving parents are still finding life difficult.

Being in lockdown and having a baby on oxygen means Ellie often feels ‘uncomfortable’ taking Joshua out.

“Lockdown has been hard because you can’t see any of your friends, it is difficult to communicate with everyone, and at first I felt completely shut off from the world.

“I’m really conscious about taking Joshua out because of his oxygen tank, it makes you feel like a ghostbuster.

“I feel really self-conscious and people always look at him just because there something different.”

Despite everything Ellie is still positive and has sought comfort from online parenting groups.

She is part of the North Hampshire Pandemic Mums group and also Parents of Preemie Support UK.

She said the Facebook groups and talking openly have helped her through this difficult time.

“It is so helpful to be part of Facebook communities because everyone can related to each other.

“It’s really comforting to see that premature babies do thrive after reading experiences of other parents.”

“I also think talking about my previous loss help me a lot.

“I know people keep quiet about pregnancy loss and it’s still such a taboo subject, but so many women go through it.

“I was open about the loss and it made it easier when falling pregnant this time because people were able to give me a bit more support.”