Tana Ramsay joined Tuesday’s Loose Women to mark World Prematurity Day, twenty years after she gave birth to her twins, Jack and Holly, prematurely.
Tana and her husband, chef Gordon, are parents to Jack and Holly, Megan 22, Tilly, 18 and Oscar, 19 months. They lost their son Rocky when Tana was five months pregnant in 2016, an experience which Tana also reflected on in the interview.
Joining Ruth Langsford, Jane Moore, Janet Street-Porter and Brenda Edwards, Tana, 46, recalled going into early labour at 32 weeks pregnant on Millenium Eve, 1999, with her twins.
Motherhood: Tana Ramsay joined Tuesday’s Loose Women to mark World Prematurity Day, twenty years after she gave birth to her twins, Jack and Holly, prematurely
She explained: ‘It was quite an unexpected event. I woke up that morning with just a slight tummy ache. I didn’t really think too much of it. Gordon actually said to me, “Gosh, you were so restless in the night. Everything feeling ok?”‘
‘Being Millenium Eve, we thought it was sensible to get checked out as we figured out the later on it got in the day, nobody would be available.’
After having a scan, Tana remembered being told the shocking news that the babies needed to be delivered almost two months early.
She said: ‘The doctor said to me, ‘This isn’t actually going to stop. You are going to have these babies today.’ That is immediately quite shocking, I thought I had almost two months of pregnancy left.’
Family: Tana and her husband, chef Gordon, are parents to Jack and Holly, Megan 22, Tilly, 18 and Oscar, 19 months. They lost their son Rocky when Tana was five months pregnant in 2016
While Jack and Holly are now healthy 20 year olds, Tana reflected on what it was like that night they were born and their rush to the neonatal unit immediately afterwards.
‘Jack and Holly were born early evening and suddenly we were thrust into this unknown world of the neo-natal unit,’ she said. ‘They were taken straight to Intensive Care, both on ventilators for nearly 24 hours… Suddenly you are facing all sorts of scary situations… There are wires everywhere, you can’t pick them up. As a mum, all you want to do is hold your baby and bond.’
‘With Megan she had been handed straight to me, but the babies were very quickly shown to me and then taken away to check how they are.’
Early arrivals: Joining the Loose Women, Tana, 46, recalled going into early labour at 32 weeks pregnant on Millenium Eve, 1999, and her and her husband Gordon’s shocked reaction
Tough: While Jack and Holly are now healthy 20 year olds, Tana reflected on what it was like that night they were born and their rush to the neonatal unit immediately afterward
Touching on the current coronavirus restrictions imposed by some hospital trusts on visitors and birth partners, Tana continued: ‘That’s heartbreaking [going home], it feels so unnatural leaving your babies… that’s one of those things at the moment, it causes such isolation. ‘
Thankfully after a month in intensive care, Holly and Jack were allowed home.
The mum of five also spoke about her and Gordon’s decision for him not to be in the labour room when her first four children were born, but how that all changed when she tragically miscarried their son Rocky in 2016 at five months pregnant.
Marriage: The mum of five also spoke about her and Gordon’s decision for him not to be in the labour room when her first four children were born
She revealed: ‘It is such a personal decision when you have a baby and this was 20 years ago.’
‘It was something that we decided on together, he wasn’t with me when I gave birth to Meg or the twins or Tilly, but now we are older, it’s quite interesting because I lost a baby in 2016 and Gordon was with me throughout that entire process, and there is no way I could have done it without him right there by my side. When we went on to have Oscar 19 months ago, again he was right there by my side.’
She continued: ‘You just have to do what absolutely suits you. One thing Gordon and I are really good at doing is communicating. Everyone knows he is good at chatting, but it has really made me come out of my shell…’
Loss: Tana revealed how everything changed when she tragically miscarried their son Rocky in 2016 at five months pregnant
Baby boy: ‘I lost a baby in 2016 and Gordon was with me throughout that entire process…When we went on to have Oscar 19 months ago, again he was right there by my side,’ said Tana
Tana added that she was grateful when others share their stories with her about baby loss, explaining she was desperate to talk about Rocky after her miscarriage.
‘Through different things we have gone through, like losing our little boy Rocky, I have learnt that through sharing my experiences, it has brought so many people forwards to tell me about their experiences, and I have found that really comforting.’
Tana is working with Pampers, premature baby charity Bliss and vCreate, an in-hospital secure video messaging service – to help parents of premature babies stay connected with their newborns.
- For support & information for those affected by miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy call 01924 200799 or visit miscarriageassociation.org.uk
- For support & information for those affected by babies born premature or sick visit bliss.org.uk
Close to her heart: Tana is working with Pampers, premature baby charity Bliss and vCreate, an in-hospital secure video messaging service – to help parents of premature babies stay connected with their newborns