MUM nearly dies after losing all but half a teacup of her own blood after complications with her fifth birth.

Katie Holly Edwards, 35, had placenta percreta, a life-threatening condition linked to repeated C-sections, in which the placenta continues to grow and can eventually cause the womb to rupture, reports The Sun.

Katie  had to have a massive transfusion to survive when she gave birth to Lucas, her fifth child, last year.

Doctors also had to resort to hooking her up to a system which transfused her own blood back into her, to keep her from dying.

“It has taken me almost a year to recover from the nightmare of almost dying and leaving my children motherless,” said Katie Holly.

“I suffer from post-traumatic stress (PTSD) with flashbacks to the ordeal.”

The mum of Phoebe, 14, Tamzin, 11, Trystan, 9, and Olivia, 7, was expecting the delivery of Lucas to go as smoothly as her other births.

A routine scan at 20 weeks revealed her placenta had invaded her bladder, and it needed to be reconstructed.

Despite this, she felt confident everything was going to be fine, placing her trust in the medical team around her.

But she haemorrhaged so badly she had only half a tea cup of her own blood left in her body, following Lucas’s delivery.

Katie Holly required a total hysterectomy and insists mums need to be more aware of the fact repeated C-sections can lead to a heightened risk of placenta percreta and blood loss.

“My four children were delivered by caesarean section yet I was never told of the complications repeated surgery can pose in terms of placenta percreta,” claims Katie Holly.

The delivery – and subsequent treatment – was carried out at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds, due to its proximity to where husband Mark was working at the time.

“They saved my life,” Katie Holly says. “But other mothers have died.”

Katie is now pursuing private treatment for her diagnosed PTSD.

A report in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology International warns the condition “is a severe pregnancy complication and is currently the most common indication for peripartum (after childbirth) hysterectomy”.

The report adds: “It is becoming an increasingly common complication mainly due to the increasing rate of caesarean delivery.”

The condition is the number one reason for women having their womb removed after childbirth.

Now, as Katie Holly prepares to celebrate little Lucas’s first birthday, she’s also set her sights on raising awareness around the condition.

She added: “I survived through luck more than anything else and never want any other mum to go through the same.”

What a scary situation for them all.

Have you experienced anything remotely similar?

Share your comments below.

Read more:

• Kim Kardashian reveals her stress over high risk pregnancy
• Mother wakes from c-section to discover both her legs amputated

Image via shutterstock

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.