Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath has shared the terrifying reality of the birth of his third child, admitting he feared he could lose wife Sara and his baby.
In an interview with Stellar, Glenn and Sara McGrath detailed how baby Madison came into the world seven weeks premature, after Sara suffered hyperemesis gravidarum – the same condition the Duchess of Cambridge suffers from.
“I had the worst pregnancy — I’d go to the shopping centre and throw up in every other bin. And it didn’t stop at three months,” she told the magazine.
At 33 weeks pregnant, McGrath said she woke with a strange pain in her ear. After being assessed by a doctor, she was sent straight to hospital. She had been diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.
For context, pre-eclampsia – a condition which leads to high blood pressure, nausea, headaches, fluid retention and, in two per cent of cases, death for the women who have the condition – is the same condition Kim Kardashian West battles, rendering her unable to carry her third child.
Despite attempts at building and strengthening their baby’s lungs, Sara’s condition declined in the three days after she was diagnosed and she was subsequently rushed into emergency surgery.
“I remember the doctor looking deeply concerned,” he said. “Later, he said Sara was really ill and wouldn’t have lasted another 24 hours. Her lungs were filling with fluid and she was struggling to breathe. Afterwards he told us Sara was one of the worst two cases he’d seen in his career.”
For six weeks, Madison stayed in hospital before the couple could take their newborn home. She’s now a happy, healthy two-year-old.
In an interview with the Australian Women’s Weekly in 2015, Glenn recalled the moment he knew things might just be OK.
“I heard Madison cry and that was such a good sound to hear. It was just a little half cry, but it sent a wave of relief through me.
“If it had been another day or two, Sara could have died.”
Listen: Mia Freedman interviews Tracy Bevan for No Filter.
Top Comments
I had this condition. Severe, early-onset pre-eclampsia.
Unusually, my baby was affected first, then me. It is usually the other way around - mum first, then baby. I will share because it's so important to trust your gut and act on your instincts. Know the symptoms which vary widely.
During weeks 24/25 I noticed he had been moving far less.
He'd been fine about 3 weeks earlier. I'd even been cleared for travel to New Zealand.
My obstetrician sent me for a special bio-phys ultrasound.
He was behind in size all of a sudden. He wasn't getting enough nutrients via the umbilical cord. This explained why he was moving less and less - to conserve the energy he did have. That ultrasound was on a Tuesday.
We saw the obstetrician on the Wednesday, and he scheduled an amniocentesis for Friday, to find out more about why this was happening, what was going on. The hope that day became - let's hope to keep the pregnancy going until the 32-week point.
On Thursday morning I woke up and walked into our bathroom. My face was incredibly swollen. I looked like an accident victim. I had fluid under and above my eyes - which were slitty. I had fluid around my jawline. I honestly was a true moon-face. I called my obstetrician who calmly told me to go to the nearest chemist and have my blood pressure taken. It as through the roof.
(I had no other symptoms of dizziness, headaches or blurred vision.)
It was 25 weeks and 5 days, and I was hospitalised.
Blood and urine samples were taken and I was diagnosed. I was stable for two days while I received steroid shots t help baby's lungs for delivery.
Two days later, the Saturday (12 days after returning from NZ) the pre-eclampsia was found to be affecting my liver and evolving into HELP syndrome. Baby was delivered that afternoon via emergency C section at 26 weeks and 1 day, weighing just 663gm.
He spent 8.5 months in hospital and came home on low-flow oxygen.
He is doing fantastically. We parents both have a wonderful bond with him. He is a happy, settled, cheeky boy who doesn't show any evidence of having been a very tiny early premmie, except for his temporary prongs/tubes.
We are eternally grateful to NICU at The Women's, Melbourne.
So glad she listened to her body and went and got checked out quickly.