Baby blessing helps ease the pain

Rhondda Whitehead with baby Elinor.

Rob Williams

AFTER suffering two miscarriages in a few months, North Ipswich mother Rhondda Whitehead knows what it's like to live through loss.

Blessed with first daughter Eva, she thought her second pregnancy in February 2009 would be easygoing.

She was wrong.

“I knew from the start that something was wrong,” Mrs Whitehead said.

“I just felt empty.

“My doctor referred me to Ipswich Hospital's early pregnancy service and I was monitored there for a couple of weeks.

“I didn't want to believe it when I was told the baby had not developed.

“People talk about grief with miscarriages but it is so much more. The overwhelming disappointment is heartbreaking.”

Mrs Whitehead said she couldn't have coped with the turmoil on her own.

She had begun to recover when she discovered she was pregnant with twins. The joy was short-lived, and she miscarried again.

“If I wasn't for the support and knowledge from the Ipswich Hospital's early pregnancy service, I don't know if I would have tried again,” she said.

“There is no way I could have gotten through two such horrible experiences if it wasn't for the service.

“Their skills and knowledge are second to none.”

The result of her journey is five-month-old Elinor, born on the same date as her first miscarriage.

With her husband Danny, a soldier with the Australian Army, due to return home after four months away this week, the family is set to become complete.

Child and Family Health Service (CAFHS) nursing director Colleen Glenn said the Early Pregnancy Service (EPS) started at Ipswich Hospital in February 2009.

“The aim of the service is to provide care and support, within a sensitive, confidential and professional environment, for women who are experiencing problems in early pregnancy that do not require urgent management,” she said.

EPS is a midwife-led service, overseen by obstetrics and gynaecology consultants.

“We can also arrange counselling with our social workers or the chaplaincy service,” Ms Glenn said.

Women can contact the EPS directly on 3810 1414 or 3810 1111.