Dear Saoirse

Today you were born after a pregnancy of 40 weeks and 4 days. You were born at home, only daddy and mommy were there. You had pooped in the amniotic fluid and came into the world not crying, limp.

The ambulance came after about 10 minutes and immediately started resuscitation. You were taken to Radboudumc in Nijmegen by the MMT (mobile medical team). You received a breathing tube and are being ventilated by the ventilator.

You have monitors on your chest and belly that track your heartbeat and breathing. Around your little hand and foot is a band with a light that checks the oxygen level in your blood (saturation).

When you were admitted to the NICU (Neonatology – ICU), you received a special IV in your little hand. This is in an artery; with this we can continuously measure your blood pressure and take blood from it. So we don’t have to poke you all the time, thankfully.

Due to the resuscitation, there was an oxygen shortage in your brain. To try to prevent further damage, cooling therapy was started. You’re lying in a special cooling suit, which keeps your body temperature at 33.5°C. This will be for 72 hours and then you’ll be slowly warmed up. To monitor your brain activity, you’re connected to the CFM (Cerebral Function Monitor). This is recorded with tiny needles. At this moment we see very little activity, unfortunately.

The coming days will show if there’s any change in the situation. It’s very concerning, dear Saoirse. Until tomorrow, little girl.

With love, Sanne | ICU Neonatology Radboud UMC