- Poppy Screen got stuck as she was being born and couldn’t breathe
- ‘I knew we were losing her because I could see tears in the midwives’ eyes’
- Consultant then reached in and snapped the baby’s arm to free her
- Poppy’s parents, from Gwent, could not hold her for the first five days
- But now she is healthy and has suffered no lasting effects from her ordeal
17:03 EST, 28 March 2014
|
04:11 EST, 29 March 2014
A baby who was so big she became trapped during birth was saved by medics who broke her arm.
Weighing 10lb 15oz, Poppy Screen got stuck midway through the delivery, leaving her unable to breathe – and doctors feared she would be stillborn.
But her life was saved after a quick-thinking consultant snapped her limb to free her and then battled for 12 minutes to get her breathing.
Healthy: Poppy, now eight months old, has suffered no lasting damage from her maternity ward ordeal. Her mother Lucy Screen, 26, thought she was losing her daughter when she saw tears in in a midwife’s eyes
Poppy’s mother Lucy Screen, 26, from Abertillery in Gwent, South Wales, said: ‘We knew Poppy was on the big side but we didn’t know how big or I would not have risked a natural delivery.
‘She almost died and we were warned that because she had been starved of oxygen for so long she may have suffered brain damage. Thank goodness she is perfect. But we know how lucky we have been.
‘I think they were a bit worried when they told me they’d had to break Poppy’s arm, but I couldn’t thank them enough?…?She wouldn’t be here today if they hadn’t broken her arm.’
In May last year, 37 weeks into Mrs Screen’s pregnancy, doctors induced labour due to complications with her blood type. But having had their first child Rosalie two years earlier, she and husband Jonathon were expecting a straightforward delivery. Mrs Screen said: ‘I’d been told the second birth is always easier because your body knows what to do.’
The labour progressed quickly and everything went according to plan until after the baby’s head had been delivered.
‘I could see people’s faces change as they tried to deliver the rest of her but they couldn’t,’ Mrs Screen said. ‘They kept moving me around and I was pushing with all my might but it made no difference.’
Midwives called for emergency help after they suspected a case of shoulder dystocia, which means one or both of the baby’s shoulders get stuck behind the mother’s pelvis. The condition – which is common among larger babies – can be fatal.
It became clear that both of Poppy’s shoulders were trapped and she was being starved of oxygen.
Mrs Screen said: ‘Alarm bells were ringing and people were running in and out like a scene from a film?…?I knew we were losing her because I could see tears in the eyes of one of the midwives. I begged them to do anything to save her.’
It was then that a consultant snapped the unborn baby’s arm, freeing her so she could be delivered.
X-ray: The break allowed trapped Poppy to be delivered after her shoulders got trapped behind her mothers pelvis and she began to suffocate
Mrs Screen said she ‘went into shock’ because she was so convinced that her child had died. But in the corner of the room medics continued CPR on the baby until finally, after 12 minutes, she took her first breath.
Poppy was rushed to special baby care while medics were left to explain to her parents that her arm had been broken. Mrs Screen said: ‘We didn’t care at all about that. We were just so grateful that they hadn’t given up on her.’
But the couple were warned that Poppy may have suffered brain damage after being unable to breathe for so long. She was transferred to the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport for pioneering cooling treatment to reduce the risk of brain injury. Her mother said: ‘I broke down when I saw her.
‘She looked perfect other than a splint on her little broken arm and lots of nail marks where people had tried so hard to free her.’
Weak: Poppy pictured in hospital with a tiny splint. Her parents could not hold her for the first five days
The anxious parents held vigil while Poppy was treated over the next 72 hours.
She began to breathe unaided and five days after the birth her parents were allowed to hold her for the first time.
‘It felt like a miracle,’ Mrs Screen said. ‘She had almost died but all she had to show for it was a broken arm.’ Poppy was discharged five weeks later and is now a perfectly healthy eight-month-old girl.
Mrs Screen is now calling for increased growth screening in the later stages of pregnancy to prevent incidents like her daughter’s. She is also walking 32 miles to raise money for Royal Gwent Hospital.
To donate, visit http://www.justgiving.com/lucy-screen
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.
helen2122,
manchester,
1 day ago
I would rather have her born with broken bones then loose her life.. I know with giving birth to my daughter they midwives consultants always prefer a vaginal delivery, i had the option to go vaginal or a c-section when my contractions had stopped she were stuck in the birth canal, upon my last push they gave me she were born via forsceps before it were a c-section…
happy chick,
Watford,
1 day ago
I totally agree with this poor mother, more screening should be done looking at the baby’s size. I’m 5’2 and very petite. My son was 9lb 5 and he too was stuck and lodged in my pelvis. I had to have an emergency c section in the end (under a general) after nearly me and my son almost died. It was a very traumatic experience for all involved and could have been easily avoided if more screening was done looking at the size of babies. After I had my son I was asked by countless doctors if I knew I was having a large baby, of course I didn’t! As far as I was aware and told at normal scans, all was normal and fine with my son. Thankfully he is a happy healthy boy now but things could have been so different.
Dollyditzy,
La La Land,
1 day ago
Should have known a C Section was necessary before putting this woman through a natural delivery!
SarahT,
Cardiff,
1 day ago
Beautiful Mum and baby amazing story. I had both my babies at the Gwent and was really well cared for. Nice to have a gods news story about the NHS for a change Daily Mail!
redwilts,
wilts, United Kingdom,
1 day ago
50 years ago same thing happened to my mother in law, broke her sons arm to get him out. Nothing new
Liz,
Belfast,
1 day ago
wow, well done to the brave doctors and nurses that can make these decisions under pressure. Stories like this make me proud of our NHS.
Joy,
London, United Kingdom,
1 day ago
So glad the baby was saved! Well done to that consultant who did the extreme act that saved her! My 3rd son was 10lb 10 ozs he was born after a half hour of labour – practically fell out! I’m mentioning this as this article might worry some mothers about delivering big babies. Sometimes, as in all deliveries, there can be complications, other times, all goes well.
callumlawsondarby,
Stourbridge, United Kingdom,
1 day ago
It’s a good job there are people like that consultant who are willing to tale the risk as it paid off.
The silent majority,
Everywhere, United Kingdom,
1 day ago
Gwent isn’t in north wales
sinking fast,
bradford, United Kingdom,
1 day ago
Have you noticed, nobody mentions the father in all this ! It’s just so sexist.
oldwoman,
nuneaton,
1 day ago
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