I had a normal pregnancy and suffered from all the normal sickness backache etc.
All the scans were normal; he even looked like he was making rude signs with his hands on the 20 wk scan (my old boss described it as a spinarruner).
It got to the time. I had a show - ‘this is it’ I can remember thinking. I called my husband who came back from work. They put a monitor on me and advised it could still take days. This was 4pm - by 9 am the next day I was in labour and they broke my waters.
My contractions were very irregular and Callum’s heart beat kept on stopping and he was delivered with the help of the ventouse. The midwife rushed him off but nobody would tell me what was happening, and then he was brought back and was given to me. They had just given him some oxygen to get him started and every thing was perfect. The next day I was told I could go home. I was unsure but was discharged anyway.
We got home at 7pm had some dinner and went to bed. Callum had a really restless night I just couldn’t get him to settle but they had said that would probably happen. Next morning, Callum was really quiet. Initially I thought he had worn himself out so carried on. Around 11 am I noticed that his feet were a little cold and blue, so we rubbed them and my husband got some socks. Callum seemed content but still quiet. I couldn’t put my finger on it but something didn’t seem right so I called the midwife. She could hear Callum and told me that some one was on their way and would be with us soon.
It was then my husband noticed that Callum’s breathing was getting shallow. Unsure what to do I picked him up and started rubbing his back, the midwife then came in and took him off me. Meanwhile my husband had called 999 so when the ambulance came they took us to A&E but couldn’t revive him.
It took about 3 months to get full results from Callum’s post mortem.
It told us he had a genetic disorder called MCADD (Medium Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency). This is when the body doesn’t convert fat to glucose so basically runs out of steam. They say it doesn’t usually happen till a few weeks but my uncle died aged 2 days 60 years ago. Sadly, all Callum needed to save his life was some sugar.
I have asked why they don’t give babies some sugar when born and was told that it was too expensive.
I have also asked why expectant mums can’t be tested for MCADD (both parents have to be carriers for the baby to be affected). Too expensive I was told.
I asked why we weren’t taught baby cpr in antenatal classes - it scares too many mums was the response.
MCAD was only discovered in the 1980s so is still quite new but they told me it is rare to find out from pm results that a child has died from this. They also say that a lot of 'cot deaths' could be down to this.
Hopefully this has raised some awareness of MCAD and perhaps then Callum’s short life hasn’t been in vain
by
Jo, mum to Callum Thomas
2008
Jo adds: Callum’s little brother William, was born in September 2007. After a short spell in NICU he came home safe and well and tests show he hasn’t got MCADD. Things haven’t been easy. I’ve had postnatal depression but am coming through the other side of it and I know Callum will always be with us.
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SANDS - Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity
