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Dr Nellie Balfour is a paediatrician and spent years telling anxious parents their babies were safe in the NICU. But when it was her own son on the monitor, and the numbers she understood too well it was a whole different experience.
On this week’s episode of Sense by Meg Faure we welcome back Dr Nellie Balfour to share the birth story of her second son. It’s a story about when a paediatrician becomes the patient, and what happens when medical expertise collides with a mother’s fear.
Nellie’s pregnancy took a sharp turn after week 34. Her baby wasn’t growing as expected, and daily monitoring eventually revealed fetal distress. What followed was an emergency caesarean and a birth weight far smaller than anyone had anticipated.
Nellie speaks candidly about what it meant to leave hospital without her baby, and how being a doctor made that harder, not easier. We also unpack the emotional toll of a high-risk delivery and how this experience is reshaping her own bedside manner as a paediatrician.
Nellie shares her experience with the rare honesty of someone who has sat on both sides of the NICU glass.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN
- What fetal distress actually means and how it’s detected on a CTG
- Why an umbilical cord around the neck can restrict growth and movement in utero
- How compensated preeclampsia can go undetected until late pregnancy
- What low platelet counts can signal in newborns, and why they’re taken seriously
- Why delayed cord clamping and skin-to-skin can still happen after an emergency C-section
- What it’s really like for a mother to leave hospital without her baby
- When the RSV vaccine is offered to newborns and why timing matters
- How combining breastfeeding, expressed milk, and formula can support a fragile newborn
ABOUT THE GUEST
Dr Nellie Balfour is a paediatrician and mother of two. She returns to Sense by Meg Faure to share the birth story of her second son, following her earlier appearance during her pregnancy. Her professional experience in the NICU gave her a unique, and at times harder, vantage point on her own son’s care.
Follow Dr Nellie Balfour: @drnelliepaeds
ABOUT THE SENSE BY MEG PODCAST
Sense by Meg is a weekly podcast for parents who want evidence-based, compassionate guidance. Hosted by OT, author and parenting expert Meg Faure, each episode brings together expert insight and real-world experience to help parents feel informed and supported. The podcast is proudly associated with Parent Sense, the all-in-one parenting app for routines, sleep, nutrition and expert advice.
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