To mark National Pregnancy Week, LIVING hears from Hampshire mother Stacy Dawkins about how the birth of her daughter helped ease the pain of the past...

This is Stacy's story

"I have Insulin Dependent Diabetes. I have had this for nearly 23 years. I have been looked after for a number of years by the team at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

"In October 2001 I discovered, to my joy, that I was pregnant. Every couple of weeks I attended the combined Diabetes/Pregnancy clinic at Florence Portal House. I was seen by Consultant Obstetrician Mr Michael Heard and Dr Brooks the Diabetic Specialist.

There are obviously greater risks with a diabetic pregnancy and Mr Heard did point that out to me. Most people get through the first 12 weeks and then relax but I knew I couldn't do that and I'm grateful to them all for pointing that out and for the care they gave me to ensure I was in the best health possible. I'm grateful that however small the risk, I was in some way prepared for something to go wrong.

When I was 35 weeks pregnant, 23 May 2002, I did not feel my baby move for a couple of hours. I came to the maternity unit and Mr Heard gave me a scan. My baby had died. I went home and returned the next day to be induced. I had my son, Sean Robert Dawkins, on Saturday 25 May.

It was a very traumatic birth, especially for my husband, not only because Sean was stillborn but because things did go wrong. Liz Collinge, a midwife, had been with me all night and should have gone home long before Sean was born. She stayed until he arrived. She was brilliant. Another midwife, Leslie Buddy, spent Saturday with us and she was fantastic. She said and did all the right things. We got to spend the day with our beautiful boy.

Mr Heard, over the next few weeks, was also fantastic. He replied to my mother when she wrote to him and kept us informed of every development as we had decided to have a post-mortem. He even offered to come to see us at home if we needed him to.

The Bereavement Officer and Chaplain helped to organise Sean's funeral and they did a wonderful job. The Chaplain came to see us at home too. They helped to make it a beautiful memory, however sad. We would never have been able to organise something like that in the state we were in.

In January 2003 I discovered I was pregnant again. I was excited, happy, sad, and scared all at the same time. I wanted to be treated by Mr Heard and the team again but I couldn't have predicted the emotion I would feel walking back into that clinic. I asked to see the room where I had spent time with Sean and Liz Collinge took me there. Again, everyone was brilliant. Unfortunately, I miscarried in the February.

In June 2003 I was pregnant again. I wondered what on earth I was doing. I saw the team again. Whatever I wanted everyone strove to give me. From 28 weeks I was seen every three days at Romsey Hospital and from 32 weeks I was seen almost every day at the Day Assessment Unit at Florence Portal House. The staff there always made me feel so welcome and relaxed and I never felt I was being a pain or anxious. My husband, as you can understand, was getting more agitated as Christmas was getting closer. December 20 was the gestation that Sean had died. By December 17 he could stand it no more. He asked for me to stay in and Mr Heard had told us that if that is what we wanted and needed he would do that.

I was being monitored every couple of hours and on December 18 they decided our baby would be born on December 22, four and a half weeks early.

I was having contractions on and off from the day I went there. On Saturday, December 20 they were stronger. Our baby was on her way. I was moved to the labour ward. My husband was extremely stressed. As the day wore on our baby's heart rate was getting higher and higher and my husband wanted her to be born as soon as possible. I know he got very upset with people and was being very demanding. He went home, but an hour later our baby was getting stressed. The staff decided to do an emergency caesarean. My husband returned but because of the effect Sean's birth had on him he couldn't go into the theatre.

Charlotte was born at 2.02am on Sunday, December 21. She went straight to the Neonatal Unit, where she spent five days. The staff there were amazing. They are so supportive and keep their cool in such stressful situations. Nothing was too much trouble to them. On Christmas Day there were presents at the end of Charlotte's crib. They made it so special. I never got to thank them and I would like them to know how grateful we are.

On Geoffrey Hammond Ward we had a wonderful Christmas dinner. The nurses and patients sat down together. Leslie Buddy sat next to me and I thought to myself' "How nice it is to be having Christmas dinner with Leslie, who was with me when I had Sean." It was a very emotional day for me, more than any of them realised, and it meant a lot to me.

Charlotte is eight months old now. She is wonderful. I thank my lucky stars for her many times a day, and that always makes me think of everyone who helped us.