SHE was on the brink of death while her newborn baby was rushed to a special baby care unit.

But today Rachel London and little Jacob are recovering well at their Ipswich home following a terrifying ordeal.

When Mrs London, 29, gave birth to her second son Jacob at Ipswich Hospital on April 7, she was forced to undergo major surgery after losing seven litres of blood and was left fighting for her life.

After holding baby Jacob for a matter of minutes, Rachel was rushed to theatre and given a blood transfusion while her husband, Michael, feared she might not survive. Little Jacob, who weighed 11lb 2oz, was also fighting his own battle and immediately after birth he was taken to the special care baby unit suffering from a vomiting bug.

Today Mrs London thanked the efforts of nurses in the maternity ward, including her midwife Geraldine Davies, for saving her life and helping Jacob, and urged people to give blood to help save others.

“Without the nurses and doctors I wouldn’t be here today,” she said. “There were times when they didn’t know if I would survive because I was losing so much blood.

“I can’t praise them enough for everything they did for me. I won’t have a bad word said about them – they were simply amazing. I am eternally grateful to them.

“I was given a blood transfusion, but I was even losing that blood and in total doctors said I lost seven litres of blood – which is actually more than is in the average human body.

“It was all a bit of a blur because one minute I’m giving birth and the next I’m going through to theatre. My husband thought he was going to have to explain to our three-year-old daughter Eloise that her mummy wasn’t going to come back.”

The mum-of-two, who lives in Provan Court, off Foxhall Road, was in intensive care for two days before having further surgery and then spending three days recovering on the maternity ward.

Jacob was transferred to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital to be assessed by specialists but was luckily allowed to return to his mum’s side at eight days old.

Nurses on the maternity ward went the extra mile to comfort Mrs London and would even take pictures of Jacob in the special care baby unit so she could see how her baby was coping.

“If I could say anything to them, it would be ‘thank you for saving my life’,” she added.

Maternity manager Frances Bolger said: “It’s great to hear Rachel and baby Jacob are doing so well.

“Their thanks means a lot to the team here who work incredibly hard every day to provide quality care to mothers and babies.”

n Has someone saved your life? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or send an e-mail to starletters@archant.co.uk

Giving blood

AFTER surviving massive blood loss, Rachel London today urged residents to give blood and save lives.

Mrs London sees herself as lucky to survive her ordeal, but says without the extra blood she was given through transfusion she would have died.

“It saved my life and it is so important because giving blood can save so many people,” she said.

“I didn’t realise the importance of giving blood until this happened to me but now I would urge everyone to give blood.”

The next opportunity to give blood in the town will be at the Bobby Robson Suite at Ipswich Town Football Club.

From Monday July 9, for the nine days, residents will be able to go and give blood. Places must be booked in advance.

Male donors can give blood every 12 weeks – approximately every three months or four times in a 12 month period. Female donors can give every 16 weeks or approximately every four months.

To find out more about giving blood, visit www.blood.co.uk