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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Charlotte Penketh-King & Amy Walker

Pregnant woman on 'babymoon' in Crete trapped on island after daughter arrived early

A woman who flew to Crete for a luxurious ' babymoon ' before the birth of her first child ended up trapped on the island after her daughter arrived early.

Robyn Bishop, 29, flew to the Greek island with her partner Stephen Howe, 32, for the a stay at a five-star adults only resort back in April.

In her third trimester at 29 weeks pregnant, she had been signed off as fit to fly by her doctor.

But just two days after the couple landed, Robyn's waters broke with baby Flora arriving six weeks early.

Their insurance provider deemed the tot too premature to fly, leaving the new family stranded for two months.

Robyn Bishop with her partner Stephen Howe (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)
Robyn in hospital in Crete (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)

The trio finally landed back in the UK last Wednesday 8 June via a medical repatriation flight.

"I'm so traumatised by the whole experience," said Robyn, a mental health nurse who lives in Northampton.

"I'm a first time mum with a premature baby and we were just stuck out there in another country with no help, it's been so difficult.

"We were calling the insurance company seven times a day, just trying to find a way back to the UK. We were desperate to get home.

"I'm just so relieved that Flora is here safe and sound."

She added that Flora was a "miracle baby" as she suffers with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and had been told it was unlikely she would be able to conceive naturally.

Their babymoon was cut short after Robyn's waters broke (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)
The medical repatriation flight which finally brought the trio back to the UK last week (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)

"I'm extremely happy she's finally here. I couldn't wait for her to come - and it turns out, neither could she!"

Robyn and Stephen, a director at a painting and decorating company, originally booked the holiday before she fell pregnant.

The couple decided to still go and make use of it as a 'babymoon', with Flora originally due on 24 June.

"We had been struggling with the idea of having a baby and the realities of it," said Robyn.

"We were pretty rocky as a relationship and had hoped some time, just the two of us, without life's stresses would give us an opportunity to reconnect before our baby arrived."

But on the second day of their trip on 19 April, Robyn's waters broke as she sat down on a chair on the hotel room balcony.

Baby Flora who was initially deemed not fit to fly because she was six weeks premature (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)

She was rushed to Venizeleio Hospital in Heraklion by ambulance, where medical staff administered medication to try and stop the contractions and halt the premature labour.

Despite their attempts, Flora was born a few weeks later on May 13 via caesarean.

Having originally planned to give birth at a hospital in Northampton, Robyn described the difficulty of having her baby six weeks prematurely in another country.

"Nobody spoke any English and they weren't explaining what they were doing so I was just having drugs pumped into me without knowing what medication it was," she said.

"After the c-section, I woke up to no baby. I didn't see Flora for two days, and then only saw her once a week.

The medical equipment used to bring baby Flora back home (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)

"I was in hospital for four weeks and we only saw her four times and were allowed to touch her twice. It was horrible."

When they were discharged last month, Robyn claimed medical insurance company Mayday initially said Flora was unfit to fly.

She added that they did offer an ambulance to take them back to the UK but doctors advised against the four-day trip with a premature baby.

As a result, they were stuck in Greece for eight weeks, changing accommodation four times at a cost of £5,000.

Stephen carrying baby Flora after their Greek hospital ordeal (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)
The trio pictured back home in Northampton with family (Robyn Bishop / SWNS)

Prior to the repatriation flight last week, a spokesperson for Staysure Insurance, who use Mayday as their global assistance company for customers, said it was their priority to ensure Flora "gets the best care possible".

They added: "We have been closely liaising with our medical team on the ground, and the doctors at the hospital, to discuss the safest way to get the family back home to the UK.

"Various options were explored, including transfer by road ambulance with a specialised medical team, however, despite the doctors declaring baby Flora fit to fly home on a commercial flight, Mayday, our 24/7 global assistance company, overruled the decision and instead have arranged her transfer by air ambulance, to ensure the safest and most comfortable journey home for them all."

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