A woman woke up from a coma to find her baby had been born

A woman who was placed in an induced coma after experiencing severe nausea during pregnancy described waking up to find her baby had been born.

Atlanta McIntyre, 29, from Llantrisant in Rhondda Cynon Taf, suffered from excessive nausea and vomiting, known as, during her pregnancy Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).

During an episode of vomiting, Ms McIntyre choked and had to be put into an induced coma by doctors.

When she regained consciousness, she discovered that her daughter had been born by cesarean section.

“I was very shocked and in disbelief,” Ms McIntyre said.

“I remember telling all the nurses and my partner that they lied to me about getting it.”

Nausea during pregnancy, often called morning sickness, is very common. Eight out of ten pregnant women experience symptoms.

However, some pregnant women experience severe vomiting and nausea (HG), often requiring hospital treatment.

According to the NHS, HG affects around one to three in 100 pregnant women.

“My illness started early – from the moment I knew I was pregnant, before I even took a test,” Ms McIntyre said.

“Around the sixth week, the morning sickness really started to kick in. I felt sick every morning. Everything I ate made me sick.”

The illness became so severe that Ms McIntyre required repeated hospital treatment for dehydration.

“I couldn’t keep anything down. I couldn’t keep the medication or anything like that down.”

“People kept telling me, ‘It gets better after the first trimester,’ so it gets better after 12 weeks.”

“I was 14 weeks pregnant and it was still so strangely bad that I couldn’t keep the fluids down.

“That’s when I was diagnosed with HG.

“I had to travel back and forth every week, especially towards the end of my pregnancy, going to the hospital every day,” Ms McIntyre added.

In February 2024, during her 29th week of pregnancy, Ms. McIntyre began to feel sick while eating.

“I practically suffocated [the vomit] and it went straight to my lungs,” Ms McIntyre said.

Ms McIntyre became so ill that doctors at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil had to put her into an induced coma on February 19.

“I was in there for a good 20 hours before they did a C-section,” she said.

“Her [the baby’s] The heart rate dropped dramatically and they said to my partner: “It’s time – we have to get her out now or she won’t make it.”

Ms McIntyre’s daughter Poppy was delivered prematurely on February 20 at 29 weeks, weighing 1.4kg.

The baby was taken to Singleton Hospital in Swansea for care.

When Ms McIntyre awoke from her coma three days later, she described being scared.

“It was terrifying – I didn’t know if [Poppy] was fine,” Ms. McIntyre said.

“She was intubated and ventilated at the time and was in a completely different hospital than me.”

Ms McIntyre’s partner had visited her during the day before driving to Singleton in the evening to spend time with their daughter.

About ten days after emerging from her coma, Ms. McIntyre met her daughter for the first time.

“It was really scary for us, but it was amazing to see her and see the progress she had made in the few days I was away,” Ms McIntyre said.

Now, at 10 months, Poppy lives at home and is doing well.

• Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is different from morning sickness, which affects approximately 80% of pregnant women
• Morning sickness causes nausea and vomiting, which usually improves by 16 or 20 weeks of pregnancy
• In contrast, women with HG may vomit more than 50 times a day and experience constant severe nausea, significantly interfering with their daily life
• Complications of HG can include severe vitamin deficiencies caused by excessive vomiting, significant weight loss, dehydration and malnutrition, endangering the health of the mother and child

Ms McIntyre hopes that by speaking about her experiences with HG, she can encourage other pregnant women suffering from the condition to seek help.

“I would tell other women: It’s not normal to feel like this,” she said.

“Don’t let anyone brush you aside and tell you it’s just morning sickness… I was pretty much like the walking dead.”

“I was dizzy, I was lethargic, I couldn’t lift my head, I had constant headaches, I was constantly dehydrated.

“I couldn’t keep the fluids down. Everything I smelled made me angry. I couldn’t eat greasy food or anything like that. I could only eat bland food – rice, bread, ginger nut cookies. Then things got really bad,” when I couldn’t even suppress it.

“I lost a lot of weight during my pregnancy. The fact that she gave birth to three pounds amazes me.”