Mum and baby ‘both nearly died’ during traumatic birth

Helena lost 2.5 litres of blood in ordeal

- Sentinel Reporter

A NEW mum who nearly died giving birth has relived the night her “smooth” pregnancy turned into a harrowing race against time.

Helena Cornes, 37, suffered a placental abruption two weeks before her due date, a traumatic experience which also put her son's life at risk. The health and wellness coach had been relaxing at the end of the day when she realised something was very wrong. “I got into bed with my partner, and we were just laughing and joking, saying I can’t believe in two weeks' time we could have a baby here,” she says.

Moments later, she started to bleed. “I thought my waters had broken... and I was like, something just didn’t feel right,” Helena says. “But that day the baby had been moving loads, you could see him physically moving, kicking and everything.”

When she went to the bathroom, she realised she was ‘dripping blood’ and panic set in immediately. Helena called her sister Liz to drive her to the hospital as her partner Jake needed to arrange care for his daughter, whom he shares with an ex-partner.

“The whole way there, I was still bleeding and he'd stopped moving,” she says of the car journey.

“So, I was just sitting in the car going, ‘I think he’s died. He’s died? I couldn’t get my breath.”