A devoted Wolverhampton couple left heartbroken after their first child died of a rare condition are expecting another baby.
Laura and Marcello Mongiovi’s little boy named Alfonso lived for just 22 minutes because of a preventable disorder called vasa previa.
A vital scan could have detected the condition and saved him. Now 21 weeks’ pregnant with her second baby, Laura underwent the scan as a precaution last week and was given the all-clear.
The couple, of Oxley, are overjoyed at being told they are expecting a little girl and have already named her Sofia. Laura said today: “Marcello and I are over the moon. I was not expecting to get pregnant so soon but it has happened in the blink of an eye.”
The 27-year-old and her hairstylist husband had never heard of vasa previa until it claimed the life of Alfonso in August last year.
The condition affects one in 3,000 infants and is caused when blood vessels from the placenta or umbilical cord cross the entrance to the birth canal beneath the baby.
The child rapidly loses blood and, in up to 95 per cent of undetected cases, will die. But if picked up earlier in the mother’s pregnancy by sonographers, the baby could survive the condition.
The scan, however, is not given automatically on the NHS, unlike tests for Downs Syndrome and spina bifida.
Laura was able to have the scan at New Cross Hospital to ensure her unborn child would not suffer the same as her older brother.
She said: “It was so simple and took just a few minutes. I was quite shocked because had we been able to have this the first time around, Alfonso would have lived.”
Laura and Marcello want all hospitals to be equipped with special expensive ultrasound machines that will spot the condition early.
Laura added: “We are really happy but it is bittersweet. Had Alfonso lived, Sofia would probably not have come around so soon.
“Last year things appeared so bleak but now we have something to really look forward to.”
For information about the condition log on to www. vasaprevia.com
6 Comments
Hello Laura and Marcello
I know the pain that You both went/and are going through, My Son died in My arms when He was just an hour old on 25/12/90, But I went on and gave birth to 4 heatlhy chidren.
I wish You all the luck in the world on the up coming birth of Your daughter Sofia
Best wishes katrina x
Dear Sirs
Firstly our congratulations go to Laura and Marcello who are an obviously very brave couple.
The saddest thing in all of this is that Alfonso’s loss was an entirely avaoidable tragedy.
Vasa Praevia can and should be diagnosed routinely - it is simple to do and always results in the safe arrival of the baby.
We are very proud of Laura and Marcello for having the courage to speak out publicly and in the face of such adversity - theirs is a tragic story, but hopefully by speaking out others will be spared the their suffering.
Greater awareness of this condition is the key, as no competent sonographer will, or should, refuse to scan a pregnant woman who asks about this condition.
The equipment needed to diagnose this condition is available to nearly every NHS Trust in the UK - indeed Laura said it all when she stated that the scan required (and given to her in this current pregnancy) took minutes.
UKVP raising awareness (www.vasapraevia.co.uk) are dedicated to raising awareness of this condition both to the public and the medical community.
We hope that their recent and joyous news will go some way to ease the pain they have suffered.
Well done to you both
Daren Samat
UKVP raising awareness
Absolutely brilliant news, congratulations. Wishing the future Sofia a long and healthy life.
Congratulations to you both. I too understand what you have been through. My daughter Ellie died aged 5 days in my arms after VP. I am in no doubt that had this been routinely diagnosed I would be the proud mum of a lovely 11 yr old who should have been starting secondary school.
This is fantasic news, you both truly deserve Sofia.
I fully understand the agony that you went through as we lost our dear baby 6 weeks ago to this condition. Eleanor died in our arms after 32 hours of life.
There is another major issue to do with VP. When my wife thought her waters broke it was all blood. She phoned the hospital and explained the situation but they didn’t seem to think it was an emergency and said “I suppose you better come in for a check”. When we arrived (after 60 mins) we had to wait 30 mins to see a nurse and then another 30 mins before a doctor said Michelle needed an emergency C section. By that time Eleanor had been without blood for 2 hours. I beleive this should have been treated as an emergency from the point of the telephone call. If this had have happened then baby Eleanor might still be here today.
I aim to ensure that procedures are changed so that other VP babies are given a better chance that Eleanor had. Together with the identification of risk factors and better screening we can help reduce these needless deaths.
Congratulations both!
My son James would have been 5 this year had this condition been diagnosed antenally. We lost him after 17.5 hours at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield. I had three bleeds, one at 28, weeks, one at 37 and one at 41 weeks and was told its ‘normal to bleed during pregnancy’!