After struggling to conceive for 5 1/2 years I fell pregnant with my little boy, Oliver.

My pregnancy wasn’t very straightforward, to say the least. I had 11 episodes of reduced fetal movements from 26 weeks pregnant and felt like a pest for calling triage. I knew how important it was to get checked out though as I’ve been a midwife since 2011. 

Due to the persistent reduced movements, I was started on twice-weekly CTGs at 32 weeks pregnant. At 34 weeks it increased to daily, as I could go 2-3 days with no movements at all.

At 36+5 I was back at the hospital for my daily routine CTG. I hadn’t felt the baby move all day and was becoming worried again. My consultant scanned me at 7 pm that evening, to check his brain function and to look for movements. He looked fine and we managed to see a couple of movements, but it was decided I should come back the next day.

I was put on the monitor once in the morning and once in the evening. Our team agreed to schedule a C-section for the following morning as the baby was footling breech and because of the reduced movements. Me and my husband were really happy with the plan and were told if we were worried before the CTG in the morning we should go back ASAP.

We arrived at the hospital at 10 am and I was put on the monitor. I was found to be contracting every 2-3 minutes, but the baby wasn’t moving and the trace was really sleepy.

I was taken to theatre and Oliver made his appearance at 13:49 weighing 6lb 12oz with an extremely short cord.

We needed to stay in for a few days while Oliver had antibiotics. With my knowledge of movements and encouragement from Kicks Count, I was able to trust my judgement and get seen at the hospital. No matter how annoying you feel, you are always doing the right thing by calling your Maternity Unit.