This page is dedicated to our beautiful daughter Abigail who we tragically lost due to Vasa Praevia.

When my waters broke and I began to bleed, we knew something wasn't right. We went staright to labour suite though the midwives did not seem concerned about the bleeding despite me having a low lying placenta. I was hooked up to a monitor to listen to the babys heartbeat. One minute it would be 140 beats a minute, then it would be 70 beats a min but nobody was really concerned. It wasn't until the consultant examined me an hour later and I lost more blood that they decided the baby was compromised and I had an emergency c-section. Abigail was born on 27th March 2010 at 01.12. She had lost almost all her blood and only just had a heartbeat. She was taken to the neonatal unit where they did everything to save her. She had 5 blood transfusions along with other blood products to help her blood clot. On the 28th March she began to turn the corner and the doctors were hopeful she would pull through. But that evening she began to have seizures. Despite lots of drugs the seizures didn't stop. The doctors explained that if she did survive she would be severly brain damaged. On 30th March  Abigail gave us a sign that she was too tired to keep on fighting  as her heartrate dropped so we decided to let her pass away peacefully. On 30th March 2010 at  04.15 our angel Abigail passed away in our arms.

We were told she died as a result of Vasa Praevia. The doctors told us we were just unlucky and its one of those things and it cant be detected. When we came home and researched Vasa Praevia we found this is not the case. It happens to about 1 in 3000 babys and causes the babys blood vessels to rupture in the womb when labour starts.The condition is detecable and can be managed and Abigail would be here today if this had been picked up. All it takes is for a colour doppler to be carried out at the 20 week scan. A low lying placenta is a risk factor for Vasa Praevia which I had, and I was even rescanned at 32 and 36 weeks and it still wasn't picked up. This is because hospitals do not monitor for this condition meaning healthy babys like Abigail are dying for no reason each year. By kindly giving a donation, this will help to raise awareness of this condition and help to save lives.

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Thank you for reading our story, Rachael and Jamie.