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Mother and new-born in ICU 'at same time'

In an extremely rare event, a Bromsgrove mum and her baby were placed on a ventilator, together.

Helen Fitzgerald was admitted to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital to give birth to her daughter Maeve. Maeve needed the help of a ventilator to breathe after birth, whilst Helen - who has the rare condition Myasthenia Gravis, which can cause muscle weakness and shortness of breath - also needed to be intubated, on life-support at the same time.

Father of Maeve, and husband of Helen, Justin Fitzgerald, tells Elliott Webb about that experience, and how the staff at the hospital managed to give Helen and Maeve that incredibly important first contact, despite both being on ventilators at the same time.

Image credit: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

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Duration:

5 minutes