A firefighter told he was putting the service 'under strain' after his partner had four miscarriages has said more support is needed for emergency service workers.
Oliver Dent, 29, said he was put on sickness monitoring at Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service when he took time off work to grieve.
Mr Dent and his fiancee Caitlin Phillips-Diggons, 26, suffered four miscarriages in a year until tests revealed Ms Phillips-Diggons had a high number of natural killer cells.
Natural killer cells (NK cells) are part of the body’s immune system but a high level are often found in recurrent miscarriages.
Oliver Dent, 29, said he was put on sickness monitoring at Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service when he took time off work to grieve.
Mr Dent and his fiancee Caitlin Phillips-Diggons, 26, suffered four miscarriages in a year until tests revealed Ms Phillips-Diggons had a high number of natural killer cells.
Natural killer cells (NK cells) are part of the body’s immune system but a high level are often found in recurrent miscarriages.
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FunTranscript
00:00My name is Oliver Dent. I am a firefighter for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and I'm based out of Hatfield.
00:07This is my story.
00:10On the 4th of September, 2022, I saw my baby's heartbeat at 7 weeks.
00:16I was going to be a dad.
00:18Something I had dreamt about for years and something I had felt destined to become.
00:23We were both so excited and instantly started to change our whole life.
00:27How we wanted to tell our family, what gender, clothes, who would they look like.
00:33All of these exciting things go through your head in seconds.
00:37Symptoms go.
00:39Boobs aren't sore anymore.
00:41She doesn't feel sick.
00:43Something isn't right.
00:45EPU.
00:47That's the early pregnancy unit.
00:49Somewhere you never want to be when you're having, wanting, craving a child.
00:54I saw my baby, a little bigger than before.
00:58Arms, legs, head, all formed.
01:02But there was no heartbeat.
01:05The dream had gone.
01:07Our little rice miscarriage number one.
01:10I had to be strong for her whilst feeling heartbreak that I've never experienced before.
01:15Fast forward to March.
01:17I go upstairs.
01:19I look on the bed and there's a pregnancy test.
01:23And there's also a baby grow that reads,
01:26I love my daddy.
01:28This time I'm going to be a dad.
01:31We pay for an early pregnancy scan as soon as we could.
01:35Nothing there.
01:37There's no heartbeat.
01:40The same emotions hit me but this time it feels a bit weird.
01:47I've never felt so unlucky.
01:5120%.
01:53Little baby pip.
01:55Miscarriage number two.
01:57So what do we do?
01:59We decided to go private for some blood tests.
02:02They came back normal.
02:04Bad luck?
02:06Do we need further testing?
02:08The specialist advice was keep going.
02:10The odds are now in your favour.
02:13Well if the specialists who have studied for years say this,
02:16then it must be.
02:18Pregnancy number three.
02:20Positive test.
02:22Anxiety.
02:23Excitement.
02:24More anxiety.
02:25Bleeding.
02:26Bleeding.
02:27No baby.
02:29Miscarriage number three.
02:31Baby nugget.
02:32Gone.
02:33We were now officially part of a 1% club.
02:36A club that no one wants to be in.
02:40So whilst we were finding another clinic to go to,
02:43we had another pregnancy.
02:45As soon as we were pregnant we weren't anymore.
02:48Baby dot.
02:49Miscarriage number four.
02:52A family friend pointed us in the direction of Dr. Shihata
02:55and Dr. Edge in Epsom,
02:57geniuses of the fertility and pregnancy world.
03:00Blood tests and scans show that my partner had high natural killer cells,
03:06which you only find out that you have those whilst you're pregnant.
03:10It basically meant that every pregnancy we have,
03:13the natural killer cells would kill the pregnancy.
03:16So, where are we now?
03:21As of writing this, or reading this should I say,
03:24we are 33 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby boy.
03:28It's cost a lot of money,
03:30but what is money compared to happiness and a healthy baby?