The story so far:

On the 4th March 2023, my life changed forever. One day after my due date, I watched my daughter's heart beat dissappear on the hospital heart rate monitor. Libi was born via emergency c-section and after several attempts at resuscitation she was pronounced dead, she never took a breath and she never opened her beautiful eyes. To hear the words "your daughter didn't make it" when coming round from my general anaesthetic will haunt me forever. However, to then learn that Libi's death was preventable had the hospital followed protocol, is what makes this whole journey unbearable. In the week leading up to Libi's arrival, I was diagnosed with mild obstetric cholestasis. This is where bile acid enters the blood stream. As a result it can affect the placenta and there is a risk of stillbirth. From the moment we had this diagnosis we should have been under consultant care and offered induction in which case, Libi would have been delivered early and most likely survived. However, the hospital protocol wasn't followed and we were falsely reassured that there was nothing to worry about, there was no mention of the risk of stillbirth and we were left to be "monitored". There are many things that went wrong with our care in the lead up to Libi's arrival and as a result, at each stage, Libi lost her chance at survival. As it stands, we are still waiting for the coroner's inquest decision so there may be more information to come but this is the story so far.

I had never heard of obstetric cholestasis and as far as I'm aware, not many mums have. There is a lot of pressure on mums during pregnancy. Eat well, DO this, DON'T do that etc. and there is a perception that as a pregnant mother you know EVERYTHING there is to know about being pregnant. But this is far from the truth. We are not the experts and we put our trust in the medical professionals. Sadly, the professionals failed us and they failed Libi. I now feel it is my duty to give Libi a presence in this world and ensure that some good comes out of what can only be described as the ultimate shit storm. Libi's death CANNOT be for nothing. I want other mums to know about obstetric cholestasis so that no one else has to go through what my family and I have been through and the heart ache that we will feel forever. 

I fundraise to keep Libi's presence in this world, to get her name out there and to give her a voice that she has been denied. All I want to do is talk about my daughter and for others to know of her sacrifce. Because of her, the hospital have made changes, which now means that other families will get to leave hospital with their baby in their arms and see them grow up. Some people say I'm strong and brave doing these events but I'm only this way because Libi has given me strength, courage and determination not just on these fundraising days but forever. She will be remembered FOREVER. 

The next fundraiser is the Cheadle Hulme Markets on Saturday 20th April 2024. Please give generously or get involved of you're local. This charity has helped us and continues to help us in ways we never thought we would need. Please help them to help others and let's keep Libi's memory alive. 💗

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