On the 16th of March 2020, I knew something wasn’t right with my baby. After food, a cold drink, some chocolate and a shower, there were still very little movement.

I went to sleep hoping that he was just resting. The next morning, on March 17th, my partner and I went to the hospital to get checked. Something within me told me that my baby wasn't okay.

They hooked me up to monitors and reassured me that everything would be fine. They gave me a button to press every time I felt a movement and I didn’t press that button once.

They moved me to a private room and kept me there for another 3.5 hours. They put me in different positions, took blood, gave me injections, IV fluids, steroid shots and, with still no improvement, the team decided that emergency c-section was our only option.

My son was born at 33 weeks weighing a small 4lb 2oz. This was a very fast and scary experience. But the scariest thing was the uncertainty of my baby’s future.

This was such an emotional time, not only did I not get to see my baby for the first day of his life, but I didn’t get to hold him, bond with him or even feed him. Straight after his birth he was taken to NICU, where he spent the first week of his life. They told me that my baby was distressed in the womb but they couldn’t tell me why.

If it wasn’t for Kicks Count my baby might not be in my arms right now.

KICKS REALLY DO COUNT!