When we talk we don't feel so alone - Interview with Lady Sarra Hoy

  In this episode, Zoe speaks to Lady Sarra Hoy, mother of two and wife to the one and only, sir Chris hoy, Britain’s most successful Olympian. Their first child, Callum, was delivered by emergency caesarean after Sarra developed severe pre-eclampsia and HELP syndrome.   Sarra is now an ambassador for the charity Bliss, listen in today as she talks through her journey of bringing Callum into the world.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   Sarra met her husband Chris, in the pub. They were introduced together by mutual friends, that was 16 years ago. Sharing our experiences can help others and Sarra feels it’s important to talk about her experience of being pregnant with Callum because of the awareness it raises.  Sarra started to feel unwell at 26 weeks and slowly felt worse. In hindsight she can see all the little signs that something wasn’t quite right but at the time she didn’t know that these were things she should be flagging to professionals. It was only when she called 111 after being unable to remedy her severe heartburn that they sent an ambulance for her. She started to feel better once at hospital but it turned out that she had actually had a heart attack. She was later diagnosed with HELP syndrome which is a severe form of preeclampsia. It can be difficult to distinguish preeclampsia symptoms with normal pregnancy symptoms but it’s about having the combination of them. The common symptoms of pre-eclampsia are: -Protein in the urine-High blood pressure for the mother-Weight gain/ Edema-Gastric Pain-Visual disturbances-Headaches   After being diagnosed with HELP syndrome, Sarra went in for a scan of the baby. It was discovered that Sarra’s placenta was failing and Callum had to be delivered by emergency c-section. Sarra wasn’t well enough to meet Callum until the next day. It’s a huge adjustment becoming a parent under normal circumstances. Learning to be a neo-natal mum is incredibly difficult, especially when no one can tell you your baby is going to be ok. Because of the fear and fright that Sarra was feeling she could see herself detaching herself from baby Callum. Sarra recognises at the time she wouldn’t have wanted to speak to someone about how she was feeling but knows now that it would have helped if she did.     BEST MOMENTS   “I do feel it’s important to talk about it and raise awareness”   “In hindsight, nothing was feeling right, but I didn’t know that”   “I can’t have anybody else go through this, it’s just too horrible”   “Nobody can tell you they are ok”   VALUABLE RESOURCES   www.petalscharity.org www.tommys.org www.arc-uk.org www.sands.org.uk   https://www.bliss.org.uk https://www.channel4.com/programmes/kathy-burkes-all-woman     ABOUT THE GUEST   Sarra Hoy IG: @sarra.hoy Twitter @sarrahoy https://www.bliss.org.uk https://www.channel4.com/programmes/kathy-burkes-all-woman     ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Cresswell Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness. Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital. Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage. With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth. Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations. Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.   CONTACT DETAILS Instagram : @zoecresswell_me Facebook: Zoe Cresswell LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell