Brave Scarlett thriving after having pacemaker fitted when she was days old
At just three-days-old tiny Scarlett was fitted with a pacemaker the size of a bottle top after medics detected a slow heartbeat whilst still in her mother’s womb.
The newborn had been diagnosed with fetal congenital heart block (CHB) at a 20-week scan, a rare heart condition where the signals in the heart fail to communicate, often causing an extremely low heart rate.
Working with our Children’s Hospital and the specialist team at our Women’s Hospital, where h ours after her birth, the delicate operation to fit the one-inch device was carried out at our Children’s Hospital.
Mum Lauren, who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease whilst pregnant, which is thought to be the cause of Scarlett’s condition, said: “I was so shocked. My other pregnancies were straightforward.
“I felt like my body had failed. She was supposed to be protected inside me, but I felt so guilty.
“I went numb and it took me a long time to process it all.”
After the low heart rate was detected, Lauren was transferred to the team at Birmingham Women’s Hospital for specialist care.
During further scans and tests, they discovered a type of antibody in her blood which is commonly linked to autoimmune conditions and can lead to heart block during pregnancy.
Lauren recalled: “After my blood tests, they explained I might have Lupus or another autoimmune condition.
“I was shocked at first, but the more I learnt the more things made sense.”
Lauren had scans twice a week to monitor her baby's heart rate and was referred to investigate her own underlying condition.
There wasn’t any medication she could take apart from constant monitoring throughout her pregnancy. Lauren said: “It was awful knowing there was nothing we could do.
“At every scan I was petrified they were going to say there was no heartbeat.
“This was the hardest part of my pregnancy. We were doing our best to stay positive while trying to manage expectations for Scarlett’s arrival.
“We didn’t know how well she would be when she was born.”
Lauren added: “When I was 34 weeks pregnant, her heart rate started to drop dangerously low and we decided it was safer for her to arrive early after it reached a low of 55 bpm.”
Baby Scarlett arrived into the world and was quickly stabilised before Lauren was able to hold her.
She was then instantly transferred with her father Daniel to our Children’s Hospital.
Lauren said: “I was still recovering from my caesarean birth, so I wasn’t well enough to see her until day four after she had been through her heart surgery.
“We were thrown into a whole new world learning to NG Tube feed and care for her wounds with lots of follow - up clinic appointments.”
Scarlett spent the first four weeks of her life in Hospital, where she received constant observation and care until she was stable enough to go home to her older brothers Harvey and Mason.
Scarlett is now five months-old and is still seen for regular checkups.
Lauren said: “Scarlett adores her brothers and she’s so smiley and giggly and loves chatting to herself.
“She’s always going to need a pacemaker and will need an operation in the future, but she's so strong already.
“We’ll forever be grateful to everyone involved in our journey, from the Fetal Medicine Team to the transport team and the cardiology team.”