Couple welcome 'miracle' baby mistaken for ectopic pregnancy

A mum has given birth to a "miracle" baby after doctors discovered she had been wrongly diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy during surgery to remove the embryo.

When Siobhan Webb, 28, was rushed to hospital at five weeks pregnant due to severe cramping her and her partner Lee Wellington, 29, received the devastating news she was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy.

An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes, which connect the ovaries to the womb. If an egg gets stuck in them, it won't develop into a baby and the mother's health may be at risk if the pregnancy continues.

Sadly, as it's not possible to save the pregnancy, the growing baby usually has to be removed either using medicine to trigger a termination or an operation. Webb opted to terminate the pregnancy with surgery. She was warned by doctors it was likely they would have to remove at least one of her fallopian tubes, reducing her future pregnancy chances.

But, during the surgery, doctors discovered there was no ectopic pregnancy and so stopped the operation, with further tests revealing she was in fact carrying a healthy embryo in her womb.

Seven months later, Webb and Wellington welcomed their son Freddie – knowing he's a true fighter. Not only did he survive surgery, but – thankfully – pre-op medication too that could have caused a miscarriage.

The pair still haven't found out what caused the shadows that appeared on the scan of Webb's right fallopian tube, which led doctors to diagnose her with an ectopic pregnancy.

"Freddie is our little miracle in the sense that we were told we weren't going to have our baby and actually, we are!" says support worker Webb.

"The doctor said my case was very unusual."

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After the emotional trauma they've been through, she says they both now want to "raise awareness that you can be misdiagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and still have a viable pregnancy but choosing the wrong cause of action could result in losing your healthy baby."

Despite it being a "head-wreck moment", Webb says they are "so grateful now that he's finally here" and "so relieved and smitten that I have my two perfect, beautiful children".

Webb, who already has a daughter, three, with her ex-husband, had been trying for a baby with Wellington for two months before she fell pregnant.

When she began experiencing cramping, she wasn't too worried as she'd had the same in her first pregnancy, and thought her body was just adjusting to accommodate the baby in her womb.

Read more: Woman didn't know she was pregnant until she went into labour at a party

But when the pain became excruciating one night in July 2021, the concerned couple rang 111 and Webb saw her GP the next morning. It was then that she was transferred to Derriford Hospital, where pastry worker Lee had to wait in the car due to covid restrictions, leaving Webb to receive the heart-breaking news alone.

As she was later being prepped for surgery to have the ectopic pregnancy removed, as well as one or potentially both of her fallopian tubes, Webb and Wellington comforted each other over the loss of their baby.

"They did a scan and said they could see a mass in my womb and something on the side on one of my tubes but couldn't work out what it was," recalls Webb.

"They did an internal exam which was really uncomfortable and I was in a lot of pain.

"A doctor told me that what they could see was I was suffering an ectopic pregnancy on my right fallopian tube.

"It was that horrible feeling of, 'Oh my gosh, we are losing our baby'."

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Webb decided to have the surgery rather than an injection (another option that causes your body to lose the baby on its own) despite the possible extra implications of surgery – something that later turned out to be a life-saving decision.

"Because I had my daughter at home, I didn't want to do the injections and wait it out for the baby to be lost at home," she explains.

"I didn't want her to see me in all that pain so I opted for the surgery.

"It was really scary because I was told if worst came to worst, they might have to take out both of my fallopian tubes if they felt they needed to so I had to prepare for that.

"Having just one of my tubes would lower my chances of falling pregnant anyway, and both would mean I couldn't have a baby ever again, so I was devastated."

During the laparoscopy, also known as keyhole surgery or minimally invasive surgery, doctors realised she could still have a viable pregnancy, after getting another surgeon to double check there was no ectopic pregnancy.

At this point, as Webb wasn't told for certain that her baby was safe, she started to panic, thinking she'd put her body under so much pressure it could cause a miscarriage. But, a few days later, much to the pair's astonishment, tests revealed the baby was doing well.

"We could see this tiny, tiny baby with a heartbeat," she says.

"It was such a shock. We keep saying to ourselves that god forbid we'd gone for the injection, because that would have caused a miscarriage or at least severe development issues with the baby if it had survived."

Webb and Wellington welcomed Freddie six days early on March 13 via c-section, weighing 8lb 6oz.

"After all this, I developed quite bad anxiety which I've battled with throughout the pregnancy, thinking something bad is going to happen," admits Webb.

"It has really messed with us being able to enjoy the pregnancy. We weren't able to tell family and friends how we wanted to because with everything that happened, we had to tell them what was going on.

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"It was a lot of stress and now we just want to raise awareness that you can be misdiagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and still have a viable pregnancy but choosing the wrong cause of action could result in losing your healthy baby.

"It has been really weird because they can't explain what it was they saw on the scan on my tube that could have been there – the doctor's words were just that it was an unusual case."

If you or someone you know is struggling with an ectopic pregnancy, you can find support from The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, by calling its support line on 020 7733 2653 or emailing ept@ectopic.org.uk.

Additional reporting SWNS.