Kayleigh’s story
One in every 13 babies is born prematurely, or before a woman reaches the 37 week stage of pregnancy.
Having a baby arrive early can be a traumatic experience, especially if the baby is unwell.
Sharing her experience in order to help others in her position is Kayleigh McLean, 30, from Bolton. In
December 2006 her first baby was born early, she went into early or preterm labour at 22 weeks and
Elisia was born weighing just 1.8lbs. Unfortunately Elisia only lived 10 days, leaving Kayleigh and her
family devastated. Further investigations showed that Kayleigh had a shortened cervix which may have
contributed to problems resulting in early labour.
Kayleigh’s next pregnancy resulted in an early labour again and after she was taken into hospital for a
caesarean section at just 30 weeks in December 2007 Ella-Jane was born weighing 2.6lbs, but this time
the baby survived and Ella-Jane is now 8 years old.
When Kayleigh became pregnant again in 2015, she was obviously worried. A scan later revealed that
Kayleigh was expecting twins which were a wonderful surprise. Her consultant suggested she thought
about taking part in a clinical trial which was running at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust. The trial is for
ladies carrying twins and offers screening to assess if they have a shortened cervix and if it was they
would be offered the opportunity to go into the trial. The ladies are then either randomised into the
treatment arm which was a pessary or randomised to standard care. The aim of the trial was to assess if
the pessary is effective in preventing preterm birth.
Kayleigh discussed it with her partner and recalls her feelings at the time “It took us a while to decide,
it’s like going into the unknown and it wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we had nothing to lose”.
Kayleigh was put in touch with Research Practitioner Kat Rhead who
talked her through the process and explained what would be happening.
“Kat was always there when I needed her, couldn’t have done it without
her support. She was always on the end of the phone no matter how
insignificant I thought my questions were, she always had time for me and
reassured me every step of the way”.
Kayleigh with Halle and Pippa
After 32 weeks the pessary was removed and 4 days later Kayleigh’s waters broke. Several hours later
Halle and Pippa were born weighing 3.9lbs and 3.6lbs respectively, both babies are now doing really
well.
“It is personally very rewarding to see positive outcomes of patients who have taken part in research
here at Bolton. We would welcome anyone interested in taking part in any of the research studies here
at Bolton to get in touch with us,” Kat Rhead.
“The main reason I took part was to contribute to something which may help others, like it
helped me. If people don’t take part in clinical research then treatments would never be
improved. I would encourage anyone to take part in research to ensure that we have the
best possible treatments for mothers and babies in the future.” Kayleigh McLean, Bolton
If you are pregnant with twins and are interested in taking part in this trial , or would like to find out more about research
opportunities at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, please ring Kat Rhead, Research Practitioner, on 01204 390445