Mum didn't know she was pregnant until she got sepsis

A UK teaching assistant only found she was pregnant when she nearly died from sepsis.

Lisa Davey, 27, was brought into A&E with a suspected abdominal infection in April 2018.

Medics discovered she had a tiny tummy bump which they initially thought could be linked to the possible infection.

But an ultrasound revealed that Lisa was actually 26 weeks pregnant and had developed HELLP syndrome – a rare liver a blood clotting disorder and condition which affects pregnant women.

Her health dramatically deteriorated after she contracted sepsis and her organs started to fail.

In a bid to save both mother and baby, doctors decided to take Lisa to theatre for a caesarean section.

Baby girl Danielle Alice Davey was born 14 weeks early and transferred to the Neonatal Unit for specialist care.

Her mum Lisa was moved to the intensive care unit at another hospital and only discovered she was now a new mother when she woke up in her hospital bed.

Lisa had still been working long hours and had no idea she was expecting before being taken to hospital.

“I couldn’t believe it. I had been working 80 hours a week and lifting heavy boxes. I had no clue I was pregnant. I had no symptoms,” she explained. “When I met my baby girl a week later, I knew I had to call her Danielle after the fantastic care I received from such a wonderful nurse.”

Ten months on, both mum and baby are doing well and are enjoying a normal life in Lancashire, England.

As a thank you, Lisa named her newborn baby after Danielle McLardie, 33, the ‘wonderful’ nurse who treated them.

Danielle had just started her shift, with Lisa being her first patient.

“Lisa was so poorly, we didn’t know her or the baby would make it. Nobody had a clue when she came in that Lisa was pregnant – including Lisa herself,” Danielle said. “There was only a tiny tummy bump which we thought could be linked to a possible infection. I stayed with Lisa for three and a half hours and visited her each time I was on shift.

“When Lisa told me the baby’s name, I cried I was so overwhelmed – I was just doing my job. But having such a cute bundle of joy named after me is such a huge honour, it’s the highlight of my career.”

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