Shropshire mum 'dies' giving birth - then can't remember being pregnant

Hilary Wilson, from Whitchurch, was technically dead for 11 minutes after suffering a severe cardiac arrest as her son, Felix, was being born.

The 41-year-old woke up four days later, with absolutely no idea that she had been pregnant, or that she had given birth to little Felix just days earlier.

And it was only when she saw a picture of her new baby wearing one of her older sons' baby outfits that she realised he was her son.

Despite being given just a 30 per cent chance of survival and an 85 per cent possibility of brain damage, the mum-of-three is now back at home with her children and husband, Barry, after making a remarkable recovery.

She is now determined to raise funds for Shrewsbury Intensive Treatment Unit at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, which saved her life.

Hilary will be cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia to raise money for CMPA support and for the Shrewsbury Intensive Treatment Unit which saved her life.

To donate please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/HilaryWilson-CMPA

Hilary, a translator, said: "When I woke up my friends and family would talk to me about Felix, but I had no idea what they were on about.

"I was trying to make sense out of everything – I didn't know where I was or what had happened – I had no idea that I'd ever been pregnant or just had a baby.

"It wasn't until my sister showed me a picture of Felix that things very slowly started to fall into place.

"My older boys, Sebastian, six, and Lucas, four, had both worn a white baby grow with blue piping when they were newborns, and Felix was wearing it in the picture – so I thought he must have been mine."

She added: "I met him when he was six days old. I didn't really feel like he was mine – I wasn't interested in holding him, and I was happy for my mum to give him cuddles instead of me.

"It wasn't until I was well enough to go back to the maternity ward and could breastfeed Felix that I really started to bond with him. Slowly vague memories of being pregnant and giving birth returned, and I gradually started to feel the instinct to look after him.

"Now Felix and I have a wonderful relationship, and the whole ordeal almost feels like a dream."

Hilary suffered an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) – a condition which occurs where amniotic fluid, or other matter from the foetus such as hair, cells or other debris, gets into the mother's bloodstream.

The condition can lead to seizures, coma and cardiac arrest.

Hilary had been in labour for 12 hours when medics decided to perform a Caesarian section. Just as baby Felix, now nine months, was being lifted out of the womb, Hilary went into cardiac arrest.

She said: "I remember feeling sick, and seconds later I had a cardiac arrest.

"They did CPR on me for 11 minutes and I had adrenaline injected into my heart.

"I lost four fifths of my blood because they hadn't finished the surgery on my C-section – I had to have a blood transfusion and was put on life support.

"I woke up four days later and had no idea what was going on – all I knew was that I was in a lot of pain. I was trying to make sense of everything around me, I thought maybe I was paralysed, or that I'd died. I eventually decided that I must be having a nightmare.

"I remember someone telling me that Felix was fine, but I was so confused – so many people would visit me and mention him, but I had no clue who they were talking about."

Family and friends showed Hilary photographs of her new son, but she remained confused and unable to recall any details about him.

She said: "I knew that the pain I was feeling was coming from my stomach, so when people talked about the baby, I thought it would make sense that my tummy hurt if I'd just had a Caesarean.

"But I wrestled with the idea of believing it, because while it all made sense, I couldn't remember. My sister showed my a picture of Felix on her iPad, and when I saw the babygrow he was wearing, something clicked.

"I knew no one else would have one like it, so when I saw him wearing it I thought he must be mine."

After spending two weeks in hospital Hilary and Felix returned home

She said: "Now I'm completely bonded with Felix, he's a perfectly healthy, smiley little baby."