Heartbroken mum shares how her baby was stillborn after she was poisoned in the womb by a rare liver condition.

**Warning: Contains images some may find distressing.**

Gabriella Morley, 24, from UK, was 39 weeks pregnant when she noticed her baby was not moving.

Doctors told the mother-to-be and her boyfriend Matthew Dalton, 25, that their baby had died after being poisoned by high acidity levels in her mother’s body caused by the rare pregnancy-related condition, intrahepatic cholestasis (ICP).

The grieving mother gave birth to daughter, Poppy, on May 9 and the couple spent three days with their little girl in a hospital cold room before laying her to rest.

Now Gabriella and Matthew have shared photographs of Poppy in a bid to raise awareness about ICP, shares Daily Mail.

‘It is a rare condition but I think more mums need to know about it,’ Gabriella said. ‘I don’t want anyone to ever have to go through what we did.

‘Losing Poppy has been the most devastating thing ever. No mother should have to experience what it is like to go through nine months of pregnancy and leave hospital with no baby. But it does happen and people need to talk about it more.’

Gabriella explains, ‘Giving birth was the saddest thing I have ever gone through. She was born to the song Pachelbel’s Canon in D which is just the most beautiful and emotional piece of music.’

‘I remember Matty looking up and saying “it’s a girl” and the sound I made was just awful, I have never heard anything like it. It was the most horrible surprise ever. We had always wanted a girl.’

‘They laid her on me but I couldn’t even look at her. I just couldn’t understand how the baby I had grown inside me for nine months was here but she wasn’t moving or crying. There was just silence.’

Throughout her pregnancy Gabriella experienced an itchiness on her baby bump that she put down to a typical side-effect of stretched skin.

But the itchiness was actually a symptom of ICP which hinders the flow of bile acids, which are toxic to foetuses, from the liver to the gut.

Gabriella is now sharing her story to raise awareness of the illness that killed Poppy and to encourage more mums to speak about the tragic loss of their babies.

What is it?
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is a rare liver condition which causes an itchy skin. There is no rash but the skin may show scratch marks (excoriations) or become yellow (jaundiced). This condition typically develops late in pregnancy and resolves within days after the baby is born. Closer monitoring of the pregnancy is recommended as this condition can have serious effects on the unborn baby.

A Brisbane mum recently shared the heart-wrenching images of her stillborn son to warn other families about a common disorder that pregnant women should be mandatory tested. Read her story HERE.

Read more from MoM’s who shared what they wish people knew about miscarriage and pregnancy loss.

If you have recently suffered an infant loss you can find support at Sands Australia 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (including Christmas Day) by dialling 1300 072 637.

Bears Of Hope Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support
Grief Support: 1300 11 HOPE
Email: support@bearsofhope.org.au

Lifeline 13 11 14

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Image via Daily Mail FB