I am the mother of a 16 month old toddler who is full of energy and likes getting into all sorts of mischief. However, things were not always so. When my son, Reuben, was born eight weeks early he weighed 3lb 7oz. I was 32 weeks pregnant when I attended a routine antenatal appointment and was told by my doctor that I needed to go to hospital for a rest as my blood pressure was very high. After a series of tests I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia but also had the added complication of suffering from HELLP ( hemolysis elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count) syndrome. HELLP syndrome is the medical term given to one of the most serious complications of pre-eclampsia, in which there is a combined liver and blood clotting disorder. HELLP is as dangerous as eclampsia (convulsions) and probably more common, although it is less easy to detect.
Pre-eclampsia is caused by a defect in the placenta which typically occurs after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The condition is symptom-less in the early stages and signs of pre-eclampsia are usually high blood pressure combined with the presence of protein in the urine. It is potentially life-threatening to both mother and baby if allowed to develop and progress undetected.

Around 10-15% of women who are pregnant for the first time will develop pre-eclampsia. Also, women who have suffered from pre-eclampsia in one pregnancy have an increased chance (10-25%) of developing it in a subsequent pregnancy. At least 15% of all pre-term births are as a result of pre-eclampsia and it is estimated that around 1,000 babies in the UK die each year from its effects. Seven women in the UK die from the effects of pre-eclampsia and it is responsible for the death of over 200,000 women worldwide each year.

Although drugs can help, the only cure for these conditions is delivery of the baby so later that afternoon I had to have an emergency caesarean. My son and I were very fortunate to have a good team of people looking after us and thankfully over time we have both made a full recovery.

After his early entry into the world Reuben started to thrive and soon needed lots of clothes. However, my husband and I struggled to find nice outfits for him to wear that we liked and that fitted him properly - there was a very limited choice available and we sometimes had to make do with larger sizes. We were so busy coming to terms with what had happened (and getting to grips with parenthood) that we didn’t have time to go shopping for premature baby clothes.

I decided that if we found ourselves in this situation, the chances were other parents would be faced with the same dilemma. After months of research and hard work I have established my own web-based company 'Early Baby' (www.earlybaby.co.uk) which offers a wide-range of good quality, affordable baby clothes and accessories specially created for premature and low birth weight babies. My suppliers are currently all based in the UK but I have sources in Australia, America and Italy.

My website also provides information and resources on how to care for a premature baby. I have recently been in contact with a midwife who has over 20 years experience and she has offered to help provide breastfeeding tips.

I want to help other people in similar situations to mine by raising the profile of premature births and their associated causes. I was very lucky that my condition was caught just in time, otherwise the outcome might have been very different.

- Article by Julie Ironside
www.earlybaby.co.uk