On the first of November 2021 our son Seb was born, after a very fast induction  he suffered a severe shoulder dystocia, the labour room filled with people surrounding mum and the neonatal team too. We finally managed to deliver seb after a lot of trauma to mum and baby. Seb was in very poor condition, pale,floppy no refexes or heart rate and not breathing he was rescusistated for a terrifying 8 minutes before his first gasp, he was immediately intubated and rushed to NICU to start a cooling process at 12 minutes old which would lower his core temperature to 33.4 degrees for 72 hours.

 We had an agonising 2 hour wait to meet him and when we got there he was very poorly and diagnosed with moderate Hypoxic Ichemic Encephalopathy (HIE) which means lack of oxygen affecting the Brain. Shortly after meeting him he was transported by the neonatal transport team in a transport incubator to Nottingham City NICU which has the highest level NICU. After a few hours mum managed to get discharged and we were able to follow him to Nottingham.

We found him next to the front desk one of the most poorly babies there. We spent the next three days sat by his cribside watching lots of monitors as he was cooled. We were very fortunate to be given a room on the transition suite one of five rooms for people transitioning home or for the sickest babies. After 72 hours Seb began the warming process which we were told was a critical time for him. We sat at his cribside all night as he was warmed, he was very fortunate not to suffer any seizures or complications during this time and was sent for his MRI the next day. There are areas of damage to Sebs brain and we have a long road of monitoring his development ahead but the MRI was much better than we expected. After the MRI our amazing boy went from strength to strength developing his suck and gag reflex from nothing which after 4 days of no food, and one day of very small NG feeds was amazing ! The Nurses supported us to help with care, changing nappies, pumping and feeding through the NG tube etc. They allowed us to do things that parents would usually do such as reading stories. On day 4 we were even allowed to hold him even though it was a bit tricky with all the tubes and wires! on day 6 we were allowed to bring Seb to the transitional suite with us overnight. just bringing him back to the ward for monitoring. On day 6 he was classed as special care not intensive care and day 7 we were discharged on mums birthday, faster than anyone could have ever imagined.

We are so lucky to be at home enjoying our baby boy as a family and we are slowly learning to process the pysical and emotional trauma and trying to come to terms with the 'wait and see' for his future development and the impact that this may have on his future.

Sebs big brother was incredibly brave while we were in the hospital and has helped to keep us all going. Even with sebs many appointments with healthcare professionals we are pretty sure the best therapy he will get is having his doting big brother.


We are in awe of our amazingly strong brave little boy and ever thankful to the amazing Midwives Doctors and Nurses who quite literally saved our Sebs life and gave him the best possible chance for his future.



HYPOXIC - lack of oxygen

Ischemic - Restricting blood flow

ENCEPHALOPATHY - Affecting the brain



• HIE impacts 2-3 per 1,000 live births, worldwide, and from different causes in childhood.

• HIE has a wide range of outcomes. Outcomes range from minimally affected to loss of life, with anything and everything in between.

• How does HIE affect families? Most families who have a child with HIE experience trauma. Many need emotional and

social support following their trauma. PTSD and anxiety are common diagnoses for parents.

• HIE can be caused before, during and after birth. Placental abruption or other placental issues, uterine rupture, fetal-maternal hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, cord compression and cord issues, mismanaged birth, near SIDS and cardiac arrest are just a few causes..

• Babies and children who experience HIE are typically very, very sick at the time of injury, or very soon after. Many experience seizures, floppy muscle tone, have a lack of respiratory effort, have absent reflexes and need various forms of life support to stabilize them.

• For HIE around birth, cord blood gases, MRIS, EEGS, CT scans and clinical presentation help medical professionals determine if HIE has occurred and, if so, the potential severity, which guides treatment decisions, such as implementing therapeutic hypothermic cooling.

• HIE NICU families have an interesting experience, unlike more common causes of a NICU stay. HIE babies are typically born near or full term, and yet typically very, very sick. It can feel very isolating to go through a neonatal brain injury, as most high level NICU resources and messaging is geared towards preemies.



• HIE can cause other conditions. Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, vision and hearing loss, speech delays, learning and attention issues, feeding issues and global delays and disabilities are just a few of those conditions, there are many more.


The impact that the HIE event has on a child veries greatly and all familes have to "wait and see" the way a child is developing can change for the better or worse at any time and some symptoms may not occur for years.

We are so thankful to have our Seb and would like to raise money to support the NICU team that saved him so that they can continue to support families who need them.

keep an eye out for our various events this year!