Stay-at-home mum Kellie and her aircraft engineer husband Andrew were delighted to discover she was pregnant. But their joy soon turned to despair.
Warned she could “bleed to death within minutes,” a mum has recalled being gripped by terror and heartache after doctors discovered her unborn baby had attached dangerously close to her c section scar.
Stay-at-home mum Kellie Cantwell and her aircraft engineer husband Andrew, both 31, of Limerick in Ireland had been delighted to discover she was pregnant in early 2017, with a possible brother or sister for their boys, Liam, now seven, and Seán, four.
But their joy gave way to despair when, at a six week scan, medics realised that the foetus had implanted onto the scar left behind after their caesarean deliveries.
Known as a caesarean scar ectopic pregnancy – one of the rarest of these type of pregnancies, where a fertilised egg gets stuck outside the womb – Kellie was told she was at high risk of rupture, meaning she could bleed to death.
“Hearing that I’d have had minutes to live was so shocking. I couldn’t even leave hospital, as I needed to be around doctors should the worst happen,” she said.
“It was strange, as I didn’t feel sick physically, but mentally and emotionally, I was exhausted. All I wanted was to be back home with my boys.”
As surgery and a traditional termination were both deemed too dangerous, due to the risk of bleeding, she instead had to end the pregnancy using methotrexate, a type of chemotherapy drug.
According to the NHS, the drug can temporarily reduce fertility, so Kellie was amazed to discover she was expecting once again in January 2018.
Speaking ahead of her first Mother’s Day with her miracle daughter Éabha, who was born in September last year, she said: “I didn’t tell anyone for about two weeks after I first found out – not even Andrew.”
She continued: “I didn’t want to get everyone’s hopes up after they’d felt so helpless before. I took about 14 pregnancy tests to be sure before I told Andrew.
“Even now, six months on, when I look at Éabha, I can barely believe she’s real.”
Before having Liam in January 2012 and Seán in January 2015, Kellie had experienced another ectopic pregnancy.
So, with her history, when she fell pregnant again in early 2017, it was agreed she would be closely monitored.
Then, in March 2017, a six week scan revealed she was suffering from a caesarean scar ectopic pregnancy.
She recalled: “I didn’t really understand what was happening, but was told not to Google anything, as I sat in the waiting room for a doctor to come and speak to me.”
She continued: “Of course, I did what everybody does and Googled it. All I saw was these horror stories that sent me into a panic.”
According to the charity The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, the high risk of bleeding, which can need a hysterectomy to control it, means that, if a caesarean scar pregnancy is diagnosed, patients are usually advised to terminate.
For this reason, Kellie was admitted to hospital right away, before being given a methotrexate injection the following morning.
Designed to stop the pregnancy from developing any further, it works by temporarily interfering with the body’s processing of folate – an essential vitamin needed to help rapidly dividing cells in pregnancy.
Kellie recalled: “I had been so excited, even telling the boys they were getting a brother or sister.
“They were beside themselves, chattering away when they came to see me in hospital, telling the lady in the next bed that, ‘Mummy was going to have a baby before Halloween.’”
Kellie continued: “It broke my heart telling them that wasn’t going to happen anymore.”
Eventually, following a second methotrexate injection when Kellie’s levels of hCG – a pregnancy hormone – failed to drop as expected, she was discharged after two weeks.
But it wasn’t until four months later in July 2017 that she was officially declared as clinically no longer pregnant.
The following month, after follow up tests showed her body had been virtually stripped of folates, disrupting her hormones, she took to the internet in search of help.
Through Facebook, she discovered Proceive – a range of fertility supplements that blend folic acid, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.
She explained: “When I first decided to start taking Proceive, I wasn’t actively thinking about trying for another baby. I just thought they’d help get my body up to optimum level.”
She continued: “I cleared it with my doctors and, after reading about them on social media, spotted a Facebook giveaway.
“I ended up winning a six month supply, which was great as I’d have bought them anyway.”
After such a crushing ordeal, some long-overdue happy news then came for Kellie when she fell pregnant again in January 2018.
At first, afraid of raising her family’s hopes, she kept it a secret, not even telling Andrew until two weeks – and 14 tests – later.
Finally, the pair did an early detection test together, which turned out to be positive.
From there, Kellie rang the hospital and went in the next day for a blood test, which confirmed the news.
“They were so great with me. There was no waiting around, as they knew how nervous I was,” she said. “I was really closely monitored, and it soon became clear the baby was growing as she should.
“The relief I felt was indescribable. After that, the pregnancy was great – but I still couldn’t get excited. I felt as if something was going to come in at the last minute and take it all away.”
Thankfully, Kellie’s pregnancy progressed well, and in September 2018, at 38 weeks, she delivered Éabha by caesarean section.
She continued: “It was so surreal. Holding her, I didn’t even know how to feel.”
Now, Kellie is sharing her story to raise awareness of scar pregnancies, and offer hope to other women out there who are experiencing the same thing.
She said: “When I was searching, there were no positives, no light at the end of the tunnel.”
She added: “I want to show others out there that it can be okay. This time last year, I was nearly dying, but now I’m getting ready to celebrate Mother’s Day with my boys and miracle girl.
“I’m not sure what the kids have planned for me yet, but as long as we’re all together, I’m happy.”
