'They saved me and my baby when my heart stopped'

A mum from Staffordshire has thanked the medical team who saved her and her baby daughter's lives after she went into cardiac arrest while 37 weeks pregnant.

Natasha's heart stopped for a total of 14 minutes after she collapsed in A&E at the Royal Stoke hospital in December - after experiencing difficulty breathing, chest pains and a persistent cough.

A 30-strong team had to do CPR on her, and also carry out a Caesarean section to help her give birth at the same time.

Baby Beau was delivered within four minutes, while the CPR continued for 40 minutes.

Following the emergency procedure, Natasha was placed in an induced coma and transferred to a critical care unit, while her daughter received care from specialist paediatric and neonatal teams.

After spending two days in a neonatal intensive care unit, the baby was able to go home to Stafford with Natasha's husband, Ayo.

Natasha was then reunited with Beau and her other daughter, 14-month-old Love, in time for Christmas following two weeks on a specialist heart ward.

"After suffering the cardiac arrest, I can remember parts of my treatment before waking up in critical care," she said.

"My first thought was 'where's my kids?' I didn't know what gender baby I was having until my husband told me and showed me a photo of Beau."

She added: "When she came to visit me, I couldn't hold her very well, but I always tried to do skin to skin with her."

During her recovery in hospital, Natasha had an defibrillator implant fitted.

"Now I'm much more appreciative of life and won't take anything for granted ever again," she said, describing her baby as a "miracle".

"I just can't imagine life without her, she's amazing. I don't even know how do you thank someone for saving you and your daughter.

"I'm very lucky that it was a handover, so all the night staff and day staff were there, so it was double the team - double the staff."

In recognition of their actions, the staff involved were presented with University Hospitals of North Midlands' Chief Executive Award.

"This was fortunately a very rare occurrence, but everyone involved responded quickly and appropriately, even though it was the very end of the night shift for many," said chief executive, Dr Simon Constable.

"Thanks to the combined efforts, skills and experience of our staff Natasha and Beau were able to enjoy a special Christmas together with their family."

One of the first doctors to respond to Natasha's cardiac arrest was Dr Andrew Bennett.

"As difficult as this it was for all involved, this must be one of the proudest moments of my career," he said. "I'm so proud to work with such a dedicated team."

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