Bristol woman gives birth against all the odds

A Bristol woman who was told she could die if she became pregnant has given birth to a healthy baby son – which she had no idea she was carrying for eight months.

Julianne Lewtas, who has kidney failure and needs constant dialysis, was told if she became pregnant she could suffer a miscarriage or even die. But, against all the odds and while she was taking the contraceptive pill, the 20-year-old discovered she was expecting her first child at the start of October.

An emergency scan showed she was about 28 weeks pregnant. Four weeks later she gave birth to Gene, weighing in at 4lbs 7ozs.

Doctors at Southmead Hospital have since told her Gene is the first baby to be born at the hospital in 40 years while the mother was on "peritoneal" kidney dialysis.

Miss Lewtas was put on the donor list just over a year ago and the kidney team at the hospital had been considering a live donor transplant from her mother Liz, but that has now been put on hold until her body has recovered from the Caesarean.

Miss Lewtas, of Hartcliffe, was born with kidney failure, which has been controlled with medication since she was four years old. She has been undergoing kidney dialysis for almost a year.

Miss Lewtas, a manager at Pizza Hut in Hengrove Park, noticed she had put on some weight but put it down to her dialysis treatment.

She did not suffer any morning sickness or have any idea that she might have been pregnant until four weeks before doctors operated to remove the baby.

Yesterday she said she was thrilled with her "little bundle of joy".

Initially, Miss Lewtas was told her son would not be allowed home until after his due date, which was worked out as December 18, but Gene was allowed home for the first time yesterday afternoon – and the Evening Post was there to greet him.

She has been with her partner Matt Parnell for six years but still lives at home with her mother Liz.

She said: "I used to get pains in my stomach anyway, so my partner was rubbing my belly like he normally does and felt something more pronounced than usual. We did a home pregnancy test, which showed positive and then I went to the doctors a couple of days later, which came back positive as well. I had no idea whatsoever before that.

"I then had an emergency scan on September 30.

"I had been told several years ago that if I fell pregnant it would either kill me or I would miscarry.

"I was quite shocked but quite pleased as well. It is what I always wanted but had thought it would not happen for another six years at least."

Once it emerged she was pregnant, doctors noticed the baby had not grown much and she was suffering painful false contractions, so the decision was taken to carry out the Caesarean on October 29.

Doctors filmed the birth because it was such a "novelty" for a woman on dialysis to fall pregnant and then give birth.

Miss Lewtas, who studied childcare at college after leaving school, said: "One of the nurses who has worked in the job for more than 25 years told me she had never known a peritoneal patient get pregnant."

She has her dialysis at home and will be able to continue doing so.

Kidney consultant Charlie Tomson said: "It is quite uncommon for people with severe kidney damage to become pregnant, so it was quite a surprise.

"We were particularly pleased she was not taking anything that might have harmed baby, which often kidney patients are, so that was good fortune."