Days on from the premature arrival of her first child, Channel 9 presenter Sam Squiers has confirmed that had she not rushed to the hospital when she did, things could have turned fatal for herself and her new baby, Imogen.
“It was such a dramatic moment,” the new mum told The Courier Mail on Saturday.
Trouble began for Squiers, who was 32 weeks pregnant, on Monday evening when she began experiencing abdominal pain. With her husband, Ben, interstate for work, she decided to ignore it and went to sleep. But by 2am, she says, the pain had become so severe she travelled to Brisbane’s Mater Hospital in a taxi, where was rushed into an operating theatre.
“We were trying to wait [to deliver until Ben returned], but all of a sudden I developed pre-eclampsia, which was really sudden and really severe,” Squiers explained, adding, “My kidneys were shutting down and I lost all my vision.”
Listen: Monique Bowley and Bec Judd talk about preparing for delivery on Hello Bump. Post continues…
Squiers said, “I just told myself I’ve just got to do this; I’ve just got to get through this.”
Within minutes, Imogen Grace had made her way into the world weighing just 1.3 kilograms, something Squiers now describes as “a dramatic moment.”
“I just had a quick look and then they whisked her away. I didn’t even really see her,” Squiers said.
Thankfully, Ben arrived hours later and now, days on, Sam is doing well and Imogen is thriving in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit, where she is set to stay for up to eight weeks.
“I’ve only just started now to realise how serious it was. It was so quick,” Squiers told The Courier Mail, before adding an important message to all expectant mums out there.
“If I hadn’t have gone in we would have lost her … I was so close to not going in. I’m just really relieved that I didn’t try to be too much of a hero.”
