Fussy feeding, bad nights – after my daughter’s birth, I thought I was just dealing with the typical challenges of a newborn. Then came an emergency visit to A&E…
A chorus announces the arrival of birthday cake in the corridor of paediatric A&E in Lewisham hospital, London. Were it not for the paper curtain separating the corridor from our cubicle, we’d be at the party, but there’s a different kind of bustle where we are.
Two registrars, a junior doctor and a nurse are trying to draw blood from my baby for the second time today, and, after more attempts than I can count, have so far been unsuccessful. Her face contorts, she squawks, her little limbs flail. This needle has burst the bubble of new parenthood irreversibly. “I’ve never seen a baby with haemoglobin this low,” the doctor tells me, grimacing.
