Smiling weakly for the camera with one arm wrapped around her much longed-for baby girl, it should be a moment for any first time mum to treasure.
But doctors fear Nicola Landsdown won’t even remember giving birth to little Lexi after she suffered a potentially-fatal bleed on the brain and has had to be put into a coma to save her life.
The 38-year-old collapsed just two days before she was due to give birth and doctors had to deliver the baby by emergency caesarean section earlier this month.
But Nicola, who had spent years of trying for a baby with partner of four years Kevin Smeers, had to be put into a coma shortly afterwards to drain the pressure from her brain.
Kevin, also 38, managed to capture the brief first moments Nicola spent with their daughter on camera before she was whisked away to intensive care.
Two weeks later, Nicola is still in a coma and doctors fear that she may have been left brain damaged and may not even remember giving birth to her first child.
Nicola smiles for a picture with partner Kevin Smeers and their newborn daughter Lexi (
Image:
SWNS)
Nicola was 41 weeks pregnant when she collapsed after getting out of bed and doctors safely delivered healthy 8lb baby Lexi under general anaesthetic on May 7.
Kevin, who met Nicola when they were at school together, said: “It’s a very difficult time because we don’t know how much it will have affected Nicola.
“They think she may have some sort of brain damage, which may affect her speech or her right hand side.
“What is most heartbreaking is that she may not remember the moments she had with Lexi after she was born. She had always dreamed of becoming a mother.
“It was amazing when Nicola got to hold her in her arms but it was overshadowed by the uncertainty of her health.
“We are just trying to keep positive and hope for things will work out for the best, but we will never be able to replace the first few weeks of Lexi’s life.”
Baby Lexi was born by emergency cesarean section at John Radcliffe Hospital earlier this month (
Image:
SWNS)
Nicola, who works for Buckinghamshire County Council, discovered she was pregnant in July last year after years of trying with partner of four-years Kevin, who has two children from a previous relationship.
The couple had planned to get married in October, but decided to postpone the nuptials after finding out they were expecting their first child together.
“We were over the moon when we found out we were having a baby,” said Kevin. “It’s all Nicola had ever wanted.
“I have two children already but there’s no feeling quite like knowing you’re expecting a child. We were so excited and couldn’t wait for Lexi to be born.”
But despite Nicola experiencing the ‘perfect pregnancy’, she took a turn for the worst at the beginning of May, just two days before she was due to be induced.
After collapsing at home in Aylesbury, Bucks., she was rushed to hospital where MRI scans revealed she had a bleed on her brain.
Baby Lexi had a few brief moments with her mum before Nicola had to whisked off to be put in an induced coma (
Image:
SWNS)
They are unsure what caused it, but without putting her into an induced coma so they could drain pressure from her brain, the consequences could have been fatal.
Kevin, a 38-year-old workshop manager for Mercedes-Benz, said: “It was so scary because we had no idea what was going on, and there was the constant worry as to whether it would affect Lexi too.
“Nicola hadn’t suffered any symptoms at all, apart from getting what felt like a migraine after she collapsed.
“They found she had an aneurysm which had filled up with blood and then suddenly popped. They said it could have struck at any time.”
Kevin, who is now juggling new dad duties with regular visits to Nicola’s bedside, now faces an anxious wait to find out how Nicola will be affected in the future, however she is expected to spent at least six months in hospital.
It may be another two weeks before doctors decide to bring Nicola out of her coma, and they fear she may have been left brain damaged and may not remember giving birth.
