Kiss of life: Mother was saved from dying from sepsis during childbirth after partner noticed something wrong when they locked lips
Kerri-Louise Gilchrist gave birth to her daughter Layla, now 11 months, on August 3 last year, under terrifying and life-threatening circumstances.
The 33-year-old was induced after her boyfriend, Hugh Marshall, 35, noticed her cold temperature and blue lips while kissing her.
Sensing that something was gravely wrong, he immediately alerted doctors to the signs of sepsis and Ms Gilchrist was given an IV drip of antibiotics.
Layla was cut out through an episiotomy and eventually delivered successfully with a ventouse.
But in the process, Ms Gilchrist lost 2885ml, more than five pints, of blood. Having sat with her feet in stilts for three hours as she waited doctors to remove her placenta, she ultimately required two blood transfusions to save her life.
Ms Gilchrist, a carer from Great Malvern, Worcestershire, said that her partner instinctively 'knew there was something wrong' after the pair locked lips.
The mother-of-two, who described having 'such an easy' birth with her eight-year-old son Teddy, said that Mr Marshall had not given her a 'proper kiss', but instead a deliberately disguised 'temperature check'.
Ms Gilchrist, a carer from Great Malvern, Worcestershire, said that her partner Hugh Marshall (both pictured) instinctively 'knew there was something wrong' after the pair locked lips. The mother-of-two said that Mr Marshall had given her a kiss as a disguised 'temperature check'
Recalling the terrifying ordeal, she said: 'The nurses didn't notice anything until my partner said to them, you're not actually looking at your patient, her palms and lips are blue - that's a sign of sepsis.
'I'd been like that for a couple of hours at that point. Within two minutes of him saying that, I had 11 people in the room.
'You have somebody that's going to stand your ground for you. I was in no fit state to argue for myself, I couldn't care for myself. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Hugh.'
Sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by the body's extreme response to infection, results in up to 48,000 deaths in the UK each year, according to the UK Sepsis Trust.
A leading cause of death in the UK, its main symptoms include a fever, rapid heart rate and breathing, feelings of confusion and difficulty breathing.
Ms Gilchrist said she first noticed her waters breaking on July 28, 2024 when she was only 36 weeks and five days into pregnancy.
But despite ringing Worcestershire Royal Hospital with her concerns, she was told twice over three days that she'd 'probably just weed'.
After calling the hospital for a third time on August 1, having began to experience reduced mobility, she was eventually admitted.
Ms Gilchrist said: 'They did the swab, came back and said, your waters are going. I'd been telling them that since Monday.
'I was induced at 7am on Friday August 2 morning for what ended up being a 36-hour labour until 11pm on Saturday night.
'I was pumped with all sorts because I couldn't stand the pain, so I had an epidural. I'd give birth to my son again every day, it was so easy, but with Layla it was so, so painful.'
Adding that medical professionals 'didn't pay any attention to me' and that she only survived due to her partner, a technology professional, noticing the signs, Ms Gilchrist recalled: 'They started the IV drip of antibiotics at 8pm on Friday.
'My daughter was still inside me and they said they wouldn't give me a caesarean because there was somebody else waiting.
'The IV really hurt and I said that to them, it really hurts, it shouldn't hurt. They didn't pay any attention to me. The state of my arm, the vein exploded and caused a blood clot, and it caused tendon damage to two fingers.'
Ms Gilchrist was eventually given an episiotomy when Layla started to go into stress.
She said: 'After they pulled Layla out, they left me in the stilts for three hours because they hadn't got my placenta. They left me bleeding out.
'They weren't measuring the blood I was losing and told me it was normal.'
Describing her partner as 'the sweetest man ever', Ms Gilchrist said that the doctors eventually realised that 'they were killing me',
Having lost five pints of blood and requiring two blood transfusions, she then spent four nights in hospital recovering.
Later suffering with arm pain due to the blood clot damage, she was unable to hold her daughter 'for a couple of months' and also could not breastfeed due to the trauma blocking her milk supply.
Adding that an anesthetist said Ms Gilchrist had been 'pounding on heaven's door', the mother-of-two said medical professionals were 'surprised I'm alive'.
She added: 'Doctors put it down as a pre-terminal event, which is the stage before death.
'I'm a stubborn bugger. At some point in there they said, how are you awake? Let alone talking to us right now. I said, I will shut my eyes when I know that I'm going to live. Until that point, I'm not going to shut my eyes.
'There was a point where I don't know if I died, but through the door I saw my mum who'd passed in April 2024. Staying awake was sheer willpower. Whenever I closed my eyes I saw my eight-year-old son, Teddy, and I'd force myself to open my eyes.'
What are the key symptoms of sepsis?
Sepsis, known as the 'silent killer', strikes when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.
In the UK, it affects 245,000 people each year, with 48,000 sepsis-related deaths, according to the UK Sepsis Trust.
If caught early enough, it's easily treated with intravenous antibiotics and fluids, but these must be given as soon as sepsis is suspected - it strikes with frightening speed and, for every hour of delay, a patient's chance of dying increases 8 per cent.
The six signs of something potentially deadly can be identified by the acronym 'SEPSIS':
Slurred speech or confusion.
Extreme shivering or muscle pain.
Passing no urine in a day.
Severe breathlessness.
Skin that's mottled or discoloured.
Source: NHS UK.
Lalya, who spent two additional days in hospital with an IV drip in case the sepsis had passed to her, is now doing 'really well', with Ms Gilchrist describing her as 'totally brilliant' and 'so funny'.
But she said that her life-threatening ordeal served as a terrifying reminder that birth can often come with its challenges, adding that 'sometimes it's life or death'.
Issuing a stark warning for others to 'trust your gut', Ms Gilchrist added: 'I know my body and I knew something was wrong.'
'Layla's fine, she's good - the one blessing in this. She had to stay in hospital for two days with an IV drip just in case sepsis had passed to her. But she's great. Developmentally, she's doing well. She's totally brilliant, so funny.
Justine Jeffery, Director of Midwifery for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said the trust were 'sorry if Ms Gilchrist is unhappy with the care she received from us.'
She added: 'We are committed to providing the highest quality care for all the families we look after.
'Ms Gilchrist was closely monitored by our team. It became clear that she would need to have her placenta safely removed under anaesthetic and in sterile conditions and she was transferred to an operating theatre as soon as one was available.
'Her blood loss was also closely monitored and she received a blood transfusion while in theatre and another one subsequently. She remained well and stable following this and was subsequently transferred to our postnatal ward before going home the following day.
'One of our senior midwives talked to Ms Gilchrist about the concerns she had around aspects of her care following the birth of her baby, and we would welcome the opportunity to meet with her again if there are any new or unresolved issues she wants to talk through with us.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
14 minutes ago
- BBC News
Fast MRI breast screening hopes to find cancers earlier
A new breast cancer study is looking at whether a fast MRI scan might help find "hard to spot" tumours Fast MRI Dyamond study is being led by North Bristol NHS Trust and will scan about 1,000 women, aged 50 to 52, across six NHS sites, including Cheltenham, Swindon and is hoped the MRI scan – which is carried out in around three minutes - will detect breast cancers that may not be picked up routinely by mammograms in women with average breast Lyn Jones, consultant radiologist and the study lead, believes lives could be saved, adding: "We know that Fast MRI can find cancers earlier than mammograms for women with dense breasts." One of those joining the three and a half year study is Diana Dalgliesh, whose sister Alison died in 2023 from breast cancer in her Dalgliesh, who works at Southmead Hospital, said: "Her breast cancer was not picked up on a mammogram which she'd had only a few months before her diagnosis."Perhaps if there had been a different way of screening it might have been [picked up], so I thought if I am able to have an MRI scan, it may detect things earlier than if I just had a mammogram alone."Ms Dalgliesh said she has "little doubt" her sister's cancer would have been picked up earlier, if she had the option of an MRI."I know the type of cancer she had is more easily seen on an MRI than a mammogram, whether it would have changed the outcome I don't know," she added. At age 50 to 52, breasts can look both completely white or dark on appearances are normal, as are all the different combinations of white and dark in between. These differences are called mammographic density or breast breast density can make a small cancer difficult to spot on a Fast MRI is a shortened form of a breast MRI scan that has already been proven to find aggressive cancers smaller than a centimetre for women with dense benefits of Fast MRI include there being no need to flatten the breast – which can cause discomfort and no need for radiation (X-rays).Jointly funded by grants of £1.36m from the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), it will be the first time in the UK that breast MRI scans will be offered to women with average breast density at their routine screening mammogram. Janice Rose, from Independent Cancer Patients' Voice, a patient advocate group, said the Fast MRI technology "could have a huge benefit to women entering the screening programme"."Early diagnosis for breast cancer gives women the best possible outcome," she NHS Breast Screening Programme offers women aged 50 to 70 years old a mammogram every three detecting breast cancers before they can be seen or felt, breast screening already saves around 1,300 lives each year in the UK.
BBC News
14 minutes ago
- BBC News
Whitehaven plans for mental health hub at former bank
Plans have been submitted to create a 24/7 mental health hub in a former bank building, as part of an NHS pilot Community Trust Limited has applied for permission to turn the former Halifax branch on King Street, Whitehaven, into the Hope Haven comes after NHS England announced the pilot to expand mental health services in the area and bring different services under one roof."The hub will provide drop-in support, 1:1 consultations, group therapy and sessions focused on physical health, fitness, health promotion and shared learning," planning documents submitted to Cumberland Council said. Various organisations would work from the hub including Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, mental health charities and organisations that can provide housing and employment Halifax branch shut in 2024 and although the building is not listed it sits within the Whitehaven town centre conservation documents said minimal alterations would be made to the outside of the building and any work would respect its "architectural character and historic value"."The proposed use seeks to revitalise the building, currently vacant and in a state of decline," they added. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
14 minutes ago
- BBC News
Barnsley teen inspired to study farming after suffering stroke
A teenager who had a stroke when she was 13 said her physical recovery has been helped by her new passion for now 17, had to relearn how to walk and speak after the right side of her body was left partially spent time with horses while she was staying at a recovery centre, which she said she found "calming," and was inspired to continue working with has now begun studying agriculture at Barnsley College, with dreams of becoming a dairy farmer, and said: "My love for animals and nature has motivated me and has helped my recovery by keeping me calm." Neive, from Huddersfield, was born with an arteriovenous malformation - a tangle of blood vessels that creates irregular connections between arteries and veins - in her did not know about the condition until it led to a sudden bleed on her brain during her first week studying at Shelley College in Huddersfield."I had just finished netball and I was waiting for the bus to go home," she said."I felt really weird, something was happening."When I got on the bus, my leg went and I couldn't walk on it and my arm and hand went and I couldn't speak. I was so confused."Neive was originally treated at Calderdale Royal Hospital before being placed in an induced coma and taken to Leeds General Infirmary, where surgeons operated on the bleed. Months of gruelling rehabilitation followed, including speech therapy and mum Abi said it was an "incredibly difficult time" for the family."We never knew whether she'd ever fully recover or not," she said."She was eventually allowed to come home at weekends in a wheelchair."I had to inject her with blood thinners."It was during an extended period of therapy in Surrey that Neive said she took "comfort" from spending time with the horses at the site."I found it really calming, I just loved being around them," she said. Neive has now begun studying for her Level 2 Agriculture certificate and said: "It's a dream come true to be studying something I love so much."After missing three years of school, I was so worried I wouldn't be able to achieve it."Emily Smith, from the department at the college, said Neive was "an absolute trooper"."There are no limitations to agriculture, she's a grafter and the drive is what you need," she said."It's phenomenal where she's come from and we're so proud of her." Building up her physical strength and co-ordination on the course has been a huge boost, Neive has learned to write using her left hand instead of her right and admitted that the speed of some aspects of her recovery was "frustrating"."My speech is not back fully. It's slower. I just want to talk normally. It used to make me angry and upset but I understand it now," she life studying at the college's Wigfield Farm campus has become her "happy place," she said."It's like therapy for me, especially the cows and sheep."They're so calming and they don't talk back. Not so much the pigs," she joked."I'm proud of how far I've come. I didn't think I'd get to this position."I'm happy again." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
