EVERY WOMAN DESERVES TO FEEL SAFE NO MATTER WHAT COMPLICATIONS SHE IS FACING

Your financial support will enable us to continue providing exceptional care to women with high-risk pregnancies and their babies.

Ashlee Neutze gave birth to her second child, a 3.91 kilogram baby boy at the Royal in September. Dustin, or “Dusty” as he would quickly be called, is a brother to his 20-month-old sister Delilah, also born at The Royal.

“It was such a fast labour after what seemed like an endless pregnancy,” she said. “I felt like I was constantly in hospital.”

The latter was for good reason.

Ashlee had pre-eclampsia with Delilah, a potentially life-threatening condition to both mother and baby, caused by high blood pressure.

Dr Sandra Lowe AM, a physician specialising in complications at The Royal, assessed Ashlee as having a high risk of the condition re-occurring with her second baby. She recommended Ashlee come into The Royal’s antenatal clinic for regular monitoring after she was 26 weeks pregnant.

Once a week, Ashlee would have her blood pressure, and the protein levels in her urine carefully checked. Dr Lowe predicted the condition would likely re-occur but later in this second pregnancy. She was correct. Within days of her hitting 37 weeks, all the warning signs were there.

Determined to take no chances, Dr Lowe recommended Ashlee be induced that day. After a fast and furious three hour labour, Dustin was born.

“Once a woman develops pre-eclampsia, the only course of action is to deliver her baby but at a time that avoids prematurity,” Dr Lowe explains. 

Says Ashlee: “Being treated at The Royal made a potentially dangerous and extremely stressful situation a much more manageable one. I felt like this was the best possible place in the world for me and my baby. Everything was explained to me clearly so I felt totally prepared for what lay ahead. I had immense trustin the place.”

Dr Lowe said being treated in the antenatal care unit for pre-eclampsia can be something of a shock to pregnant women. “The women might feel quite well, but we can recognise the signs that things are getting dangerous by closely monitoring her and the baby,” she says. “Things can change quite quickly – a woman may come in the morning, and have a baby in the afternoon because that is the safest option for her and her baby.”

The Royal’s exceptional maternity care means woman feel safe and in the hands of experts who respond to complications during pregnancy. It is through the generosity of people supporting The Royal that we are able to ensure this exceptional level of care is provided to each and every woman when they need it most. 

ANTENATAL CARE AT THE ROYAL

Dr Lowe works closely with the obstetricians, nurses and midwives at The Royal when caring for antenatal patients like Ashlee. “The co-ordinated care of these women is a part of the success of The Royal,” she says.

“What also makes this hospital special is the expert team of midwives who really look after the mothers and try to make the experience as normal as possible for her, while her obstetrician and doctors work out how to deal with her particular condition.”

The antenatal care ward and pregnancy day stay unit are extremely busy, helping pregnant women with high risk conditions ranging from pre-eclampsia to pre-term labour, bleeding, or ruptured membranes. 

Thanks to the continued support from people like you, women like Ashlee will receive nothing short of the very best possible medical treatment in the world when they come to The Royal’s antenatal ward and pregnancy day stay unit.

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