A pregnant mother who spent three months lying on a hospital bed with her feet above her head, to avoid having a miscarriage, has given birth to a baby girl.
Donna Kelly, 29, was diagnosed with a weak cervix after suffering two miscarriages following the birth of her son, Joshua.
Five months into her fourth pregnancy, following an ultrasound scan, she was warned that she was at high risk of losing another baby.
Professor Siobhan Quenby, a leading expert on recurrent miscarriages, advised that gravity could reduce the pressure on Mrs Kelly’s cervix and recommended that she spend 24 hours a day on a hospital bed tilted upwards to elevate her feet above her head.
"I was surprised when she told me to lie in bed at a tilt but I was ready to give anything a try," said Mrs Kelly, a former gynaecological nurse from Coventry.
"It made me feel sick and I had a massive head rush at first but after a couple of days my body adjusted and I soon got used to it.”
The nurse ate, read and watched TV from the bed, only leaving it to visit the toilet.
Her daughter, Amelia, was born six weeks prematurely by emergency caesarean, weighing just 4lbs 15oz. She spent two months in an incubator before being allowed home.
It is believed the birth of Mrs Kelly’s first child in 2007 permanently weakened her cervix. She went on to have two miscarriages, one at 23 weeks and one at 19 weeks.
"After the first miscarriage you think it's just bad luck, but when it happens again you begin to suspect there is something seriously wrong," said Mrs Kelly.
She added: "The hardest thing was spending so much time away from my four-year-old son Joshua - but three months away from him for the sake of giving him a sibling is worth it.”
Professor Quenby from University Hospital Coventry, said, as cited by the BBC: "Donna's condition is rare - second trimester miscarriages only occur in about 0.5% of women - and while the treatment may sound strange, it is very effective.
"We are currently undertaking research at University Hospital to replace this with something more pleasant for the patient which doesn't rely on them staying in hospital."