New mum nearly dies from sepsis days after birth

6 hours ago

Oprah FlashWest Midlands

Ella fell ill with maternal sepsis just one week after the birth of her second son

Ella Ella Nickson is wearing sunglasses and her hair is half-tied up. She is standing inside the Colosseum in Rome — Ella fell ill with maternal sepsis just one week after the birth of her second son

A mother-of-two has spoken out about the harrowing moment she nearly died from maternal sepsis just a week after giving birth.

Ella's son Beau was born in March 2024, following a complex birth and emergency caesarean section at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

At first, everything seemed blissful as she recovered at home with her new baby, but she suddenly became unwell and within a matter of days was being treated by a hospital crash team.

"Everything literally changed within a heartbeat," the 29-year-old from Droitwich said.

The rapid increased in heartrate due to sepsis has left her with lifelong heart damage

Ella Ella Nickson and her partner Jae withe their two children are dressing in warm coats and warm hats and stood in a group as they smile at the camera outside — The rapid increased in heartrate due to sepsis has left her with lifelong heart damage

Initially, Ella was breastfeeding at midnight when her temperature rose to 41°C (106°F) and she was "shaking so violently that I couldn't move", adding that she needed to use her phone's virtual assistant Siri to call her partner for help.

She took paracetamol to reduce the fever and the next day her GP prescribed antibiotics and diagnosed her with mastitis.

However, her wellbeing continued to deteriorate and she experienced severe pain, vomiting and an accelerated heart rate that reached 286bpm.

The primary school teacher said: "All I remember is having about six or seven nurses trying to take my heart rate because they were convinced that the machine was broken. It said it was over 200 and it was off the record.

"My incredible fiancé Jae stayed with me during all of this. He truly believed he was about to become a single father to two."

Her eldest son Finley (right) was also diagnosed with sepsis at 10 months old

Ella Two young boys in brown patterned jumpers are hugging and smiling at the camera. They are sitting on the floor in front of a brown sofa — Her eldest son Finley (right) was also diagnosed with sepsis at 10 months old

Despite the "traumatic" experience, she made a full recovery but with lifelong effects.

"The following year, I had a cardiac ablation, as the SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia) episode I had experienced during sepsis had caused damage to my heart. I will now continue to take beta-blockers for the rest of my life to manage this damage.

"It means some of the connections in my heart are significantly damaged, and therefore, my heartbeats are irregular. Quite often it will go up to a couple of hundred beats per minute for no reason."

This is not the first time her family have been hit by sepsis. Just three years earlier her first son Finley was diagnosed with cellulitis in his right arm, which developed into sepsis. He thankfully completely recovered with no lasting impact.

Offering advice to other mothers who may be experiencing the same thing she said: "You need to trust your gut and ask for help, and if you're not happy you have to go back, because if I hadn't gone back and we weren't in the hospital when that awful episode happened, I know for a fact I wouldn't be here to tell the tale."

The UK charity Sepsis Research FEAT has said maternal sepsis remains a significant cause of pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths worldwide.

The MBRRACE-UK 2025 report revealed that maternal mortality between 2021 and 2023 stood at 12.67 per 100,000 pregnancies. While thrombosis and cardiac disease are leading causes, sepsis remains one of the top direct killers of mothers.

Dr Andrew Conway Morris, medical director of sepsis research FEAT, said: "Pregnant and recently-pregnant women are at increased risk of infections. Whilst most of these will be self-limiting, it is vital that people can recognise the signs and symptoms of sepsis in case this develops.

"Women and their families should never be afraid to ask the question 'could this be sepsis?' and seek urgent medical attention if they become unwell."

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