‘How Plants Helped Me Heal'

Kirsty Ward, 30, found a natural way to recover after her pregnancy caused a breakdown

- Nilufer Atik

When Kirsty Ward discovered she was expecting her second child with her husband, Jason, in early 2016, she had no reason to think there would be any problems. Her first pregnancy, with her daughter Callie, now 5, had gone smoothly and the birth had been trouble-free. But within days of conceiving, Kirsty was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum – an extreme form of morning sickness.

She was plagued with health issues, spending most of her pregnancy in and out of hospital. ‘It began almost the moment I conceived,’ she says. ‘Forget morning sickness – I was sick all day, every day. I couldn’t keep any food or drink down and it got so bad that I ended up having to have anti-sickness injections and being hospitalized with dehydration.’

Kirsty, 30, from Lincoln, also suffered from intermittent bleeding and symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) – a painful condition where the pelvic joints move unevenly.

‘I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even get up to go to the toilet at night and had to get Jason to help me,’ Kirsty says.

Then, at just 27 weeks, Kirsty went into early labor and had to be rushed into hospital to stop her contractions. She contracted strep B – a bacterial infection that can be dangerous if passed on to newborns.

‘It was just one thing after another,’ she says. ‘Instead of enjoying my pregnancy, I was constantly stressed and worried.’

Luckily, her daughter, Mila, was born at 38 weeks on 3 September 2016 and seemed healthy and strong.

Relieved after an emergency Caesarean, Kirsty hoped her ordeal was now over and she could go home and focus on being a good mum to her two precious girls.