We nearly missed this bit of news from last month, but decided to report it away, as it is a nice story.
Julianne Lewtas, from Hartcliffe, Bristol, UK, has kidney failure and is on dialysis. She was told that if she became pregnant she risked having a miscarriage or even death. So the 20-year-old, quite naturally, took the contraceptive pill. And then, in what must have been a bit of a surprise to say the least, she discovered she was expecting a baby.
Initially she just thought she was putting on weight, perhaps due to water retention (a common problem for those on dialysis). She felt some pains in her stomach area and her partner gently massaged the area to relieve the discomfort. Then, to his surprise, he felt something move under his hand. But Julianne hadn't suffered from morning sickness, one of the commonest clues to being pregnant.
A home pregnancy test proved positive, so she visited the doctor a few days later and a scan showed she was indeed pregnant. As the scan showed the baby was small, it was delivered four weeks later by Caesarean on October 29, and young Gene weighed in at 4lbs 7ozs. The hospital staff considered this such an unusual event for a woman on dialysis that they actually videoed it.
This is the press release announcing the good news.
