Mum praises remote patient focused maternity care
Stafford mum Becky Currie has praised the remote maternity care that transformed her pregnancy after severe anxiety made hospital visits overwhelming.
After suffering a cardiac arrest and living with a serious heart condition, the mum of three experienced intense anxiety around hospital appointments during her third pregnancy. That changed when the clinical team switched her to remote monitoring.
She said: “The care was so personalised and tailored to exactly what I needed. I was able to develop a good relationship with the team, which hugely helped a lot of my anxiety.
“The care I received had a hugely positive impact on not just my pregnancy, but my life.”
Following her cardiac arrest, Becky was diagnosed with hypotrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic condition that affects the heart’s rhythm.
She has since undergone four major heart surgeries and now has an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), a small device placed under the chest that monitors the heartbeat and can deliver electrical impulses to restore an irregular rhythm.
Because of her condition, Becky was seen at the Cardiac Clinic at our Women’s Hospital once a week.
She said: “I didn’t realise just how anxious being in hospital would make me.
“I was such a nervous wreck and tried so hard to put a brave face on, but I was so petrified something was going to go wrong.
“I had very high blood pressure, but they always took the extra time to get me to try mindfulness or breathing techniques to try to calm me down.”
Becky’s anxiety was affecting both her physical and mental health, so the team decided to try remote monitoring.
She was cared for throughout her pregnancy by Dr James Castleman, Consultant in Maternal and Fetal Medicine and Abi Hemmings, Cardiac Specialist Midwife.
Abi said: “It was a privilege to provide personalised, woman-centered care to Becky.
“Supporting her safely at home during her pregnancy through remote monitoring avoided hospital admission, which was something that she was very keen to understandably avoid.”
Becky added: "I was still seen once a month in clinic, but I also had a weekly phone call with Abi. She talked me through how to take my blood pressure readings and urine samples and we would go over everything.
“We’d talk through any symptoms, but she’d ask how I was doing emotionally.
“It felt like a real holistic assessment every week. We had a more detailed appointment than we would have had in person.
“My blood pressure decreased because I wasn’t anxious. I think I would have needed to go to hospital if it had carried on, but I ended up having a smooth pregnancy.”
Towards the end of her pregnancy, Becky's baby was breech and she needed to make a decision about how she wanted to give birth.
She said: “It felt really overwhelming, but I was able to make an informed choice and never felt pressured. Abi made sure I was given all the facts.
“Thanks to Lucy, the breech specialist midwife we were able to try to turn her, and after the second time it worked.”
When she was 40 weeks pregnant, Becky welcomed her second daughter, Libby.
Becky added: “A few days after she was born, I developed pre-eclampsia but I spoke to Abi and she was able to act fast to get me readmitted.”
Both Becky and Libby are now thriving at home.Becky added: “She’s just so relaxed, we’re so in love with her.
“We put all our trust in the professionals and we’re so glad we did.
“I’m so grateful they were able to put my needs at the centre of everything.”