Chatham mum who feared losing baby names son after Medway Maritime Hospital doctor

An epileptic mum who feared she may lose her baby has named the tot after her doctor.

Lauren Davies, from Chatham, honored Dr Jaroslaw Beta at Medway Maritime after he helped her through a “extremely stressful, complex and difficult” pregnancy.

The 38-year-old suffers from epilepsy and cervical insufficiency – a condition where the neck of the womb weakens or opens too early leading to premature birth or miscarriage

She also struggles with severe vomiting during pregnancy, which affects her anti-seizure medication.

Lauren said: “When I found out I was pregnant I was happy but also anxious – after I lost my second baby Frank at 18 weeks and one day in 2014, I was told I would require intervention to help me carry any future pregnancies to term.

”Jarek’s due date was also the same day as Frank’s.”

After bring referred by her midwife, the mum-of-three was taken into the care of Dr Beta in the hospital’s fetal and maternal medicine centre.

But when her progesterone treatment wasn’t working in lowering her risk, she accepted her fate having lost a baby before.

“Dr Beta clasped my hands and said ‘Not this time’,” she said.

Just days later he carried out a procedure that places a stitch around the cervix, preventing it from opening too early in pregnancy.

“I was monitored regularly, had multiple admissions to hospital with bleeds, as well as high blood pressure which was affecting the growth of the baby, plus the surgery but Jarek survived it all.

“When I told Dr Beta in March that I was going to name my son after him he almost leapt out of his chair exclaiming “Oh my goodness, are you really? I can’t believe it. This has made me very happy. Thank you’.

“All the other name ideas were thrown out the window from the day I met him,” added Lauren.

At 35 weeks on April 4, her son was born weighing 4lb 14 oz.

Though he was admitted on to the Oliver Fisher neonatal unit due to respiratory distress syndrome, jaundice and suspected sepsis he made a recovery and was remarkably released home just six days later.

The mum said: “Dr Beta was going to carry out my caesarean and the plan was to say ‘Jarek meet little Jarek’ but the baby scuppered those plans by coming into the world when he wanted to so they didn’t actually meet until the morning of our discharge day.

“It was such a heart-warming moment seeing the two of them together and seeing how proud Dr Beta was holding him.”

Dr Beta said: “I am absolutely delighted and honored that Lauren decided to name her son after me and that we were able to support her to have a successful pregnancy.”

The tot has also been given a middle namesake after Dr Gavin Guy who helped with monitoring Jarek while he was in the womb when further conditions were discovered.

Lauren added: “I cannot fault any of the teams and individuals that looked after me and Jarek both during and after my pregnancy.

“There are too many people to thank but they know who they are and everyone went above and beyond to ensure I got my happy ending.”