I watched as my partner lost pints of blood and almost died giving birth says Sid Owen
SID Owen told last night how he begged medics to save his partner and their premature baby after an emergency hospital dash. Victoria Shores lost two pints of blood and needed a transfusion as daughter Skye was delivered by emergency C-section four weeks early. She is Sid’s first child. The star, who played Ricky Butcher […]
SID Owen told last night how he begged medics to save his partner and their premature baby after an emergency hospital dash.
Victoria Shores lost two pints of blood and needed a transfusion as daughter Skye was delivered by emergency C-section four weeks early.
She is Sid’s first child. The star, who played Ricky Butcher in EastEnders for 24 years, told The Sun on Sunday: “I did say to doctors at one point, ‘All that matters is Vic, make sure she’s OK and survives.’ I was imagining horror stories.
“I couldn’t cope with losing Vic, I was more concerned about her. I’m still trying to process the trauma of it.
“It was the toughest moment I have ever experienced.”
Sid, 50, had to dress in scrubs as he watched the drama unfold — triggering memories of traumatic 1997 scenes from the BBC soap.
Ricky and girlfriend Bianca, played by Patsy Palmer, had an unborn baby diagnosed with spina bifida. Sid recalled it was later stillborn.
He said: “It was surreal as I’d only experienced moments like this on camera when it was the worst case scenario. All that s*** was going through my head.
“I’d only ever worn scrubs on a TV set. I was remembering my EastEnders storyline — it was one of the big plots of the 90s.
“We used a prop of a stillborn baby. It was a powerful story. But I had to pull myself together.”
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Sid recalled how their ordeal began on Friday morning last week when the couple, who had suffered a miscarriage last year, awoke to blood-soaked sheets.
Sid said: “We were both trying to stay calm for each other, but as it was a month before our due date and we knew something wasn’t right. I phoned the NHS helpline and they sent an ambulance immediately.”
Waitress Victoria, 42 — who has two children from a previous relationship — added: “The paramedics told Sid to drive on ahead so they could put on the emergency blue light and he could get to the hospital without panicking.
“I was more of a risk because I had miscarried before and I hadn’t gone through labour for over 12 years.”
At hospital in Epsom, Surrey, they were taken straight to a delivery suite and met by nine members of staff.
Victoria was told she had placenta previa, when a low-lying placenta covers the cervix and prevents a natural birth.
Sid said: “It’s very dangerous and means that the placenta could erupt at any time and the baby would be dead in seconds.
“Inside, I was panicking and thinking, ‘This baby has to come out,’ There seemed to be a lot of risks involved.”
Victoria added: “I was really upset. It was scary to think that if it had ruptured Skye would only have seconds to live. But at the same time they didn’t want to take her out too soon in case she couldn’t breathe on her own.
“Thank goodness we went into hospital though.
“If I’d have stayed at home I’d have haemorrhaged and probably died because there wouldn’t have been time for a transfusion and the baby wouldn’t have survived.
“I had desperately wanted to have a natural birth so it was a bit of a shock to come to terms with the idea of an operation. I’d never had one on anything before.
“Momentarily, I was scared about having my stomach cut, but all that went out the window when the doctors spoke about the urgency to get her out.”
The couple endured an agonising 24-hour wait while Victoria was monitored by medics on an hourly basis and Sid grew increasingly worried as the bleeding continued.
Victoria started to get Braxton Hicks contractions — a condition which mimics labour pains.
On the Sunday morning doctors decided to perform an emergency C-section.
Sid said: “I was relieved we were finally getting the baby out but worried about Victoria. We were told she could haemorrhage, lose her womb or worse.
“It was all suddenly very stressful and touch and go and she had to sign a consent form.
“When the doctors said there could be a chance of her losing her womb we were worried.
“We already knew we want to have more children.”
Doctors weigh risks to the child
Dr Zoe Williams, Fabulous Daily GP
DOCTORS have to assess the risk of the baby being born so early.
They give the mum steroids to help the baby breathe once it is out of the womb as one risk is the lungs have not fully matured.
In low-lying placenta cases, for nine in every ten women the placenta will move into the upper part of the womb by 32 weeks.
Doctors administered steroid injections before starting the operation to help the baby breath.
As the C-section was underway and Sid was holding Victoria’s hand, the couple had a moment’s reprieve when Bob Marley’s One Love came on the radio.
Sid said: “Weirdly just as they were cutting her open and getting down to business, Bob Marley filled the room. We love reggae and that helped actually. I was trying to stay as calm as possible.”
There was relief all round when they pulled out the baby, weighing 5lbs 5oz, and she started to cry — a sign of breathing unaided.
But that was when Victoria started to haemorrhage and doctors needed to give her two litres of blood.
She said: “As soon as the baby was out it seemed I was in trouble. I could have died. I told Sid, ‘Whatever happens just stay with the baby, make sure you don’t let her out of your sight’.”
The couple — who first met 20 years ago, are old flames and reconnected on Facebook in 2020 — are now settling into family life.
Sid said: “We couldn’t thank the NHS staff enough. They were amazing and kept everyone safe.”
As soon as the baby was out it seemed I was in trouble. I could have died. I told Sid, ‘Whatever happens just stay with the baby, make sure you don’t let her out of your sight’
Victoria Shores
The couple have introduced Skye to Victoria’s children having kept the sex of the baby a secret.
They were planning on telling friends and family at an upcoming baby shower that week.
They have been inundated with congratulatory messages from pals and Sid’s former EastEnders castmates including Patsy and Steve McFadden.
Sid and Victoria previously told The Sun on Sunday how they suffered the miscarriage last spring.
Victoria had been nine weeks pregnant. Hospital staff told her the baby had died and there was nothing they could do. She said she was sent home with some sanitary pads and added: “Nobody reaches out or gets in touch.”
Sid was too depressed to leave the house for days. He recalled: “I didn’t know what to say or do. I was trying to be strong for Vic.”
The pair backed our Miscarriage of Justice campaign, calling for better care after one miscarriage — not three, as under current rules.
Last night Victoria said: “Now I have to tell Sid to put Skye in the crib as he won’t put her down! He’s obsessed.”
Sid wrote in his autobiography about growing up in poverty, how his dad went to prison for robbery and his mum died when he was just eight.
Vowing to be the best dad possible, he said: “I can’t describe being a dad. It’s the best feeling in the world. We’d love another child, but we’re overwhelmed right now.”
Expert praise for harrowing soap scenes
SID Owen starred in EastEnders at the height of its popularity as mechanic Ricky Butcher.
Millions of viewers watched the heartbreaking 1997 storyline in which Ricky’s wife Bianca (Patsy Palmer) became pregnant.
As the pregnancy developed, the couple discovered their unborn child, who they named Natasha, had spina bifida.
Bianca, after deciding on a termination, delivered the dead infant in traumatic scenes.
At the time a spokesman for the Association for Spina Bifida said: “EastEnders dealt with the storyline very well and we were very pleased.
“We know how traumatic it can be for women to be faced with this bombshell and we recognise that often the outcome is difficult and sad.”
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