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Mum's brain tumour found hours before son's birth

Richard Baker
BBC News
Hayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research Hayley holds her baby Oliver in her left arm at a beachside restaurant. Oliver wears a navy blue striped top and has blond hair. Hayley wears black sunglasses and a white t-shirt. She also has blonde hair.Hayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research
Hayley Burrows' brain tumour was discovered when she was 35 weeks pregnant with baby Oliver

A teacher from Merseyside said she only discovered she had a brain tumour a matter of hours before the birth of her son.

When Hayley Burrows suffered a seizure in her sleep while 35 weeks pregnant in April 2023, she was rushed to the Walton Centre in Liverpool.

After the 36-year-old, from Rainford near St Helens, had a second, more severe seizure while doctors were preparing to discharge her from hospital, Hayley had an MRI scan which revealed a large meningioma.

Her son Oliver was delivered via emergency Caesarean section while she was under general anaesthetic.

Hayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research Picture of Hayley's post-surgery scar around her head. The stitches run between her ear and her hairline.Hayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research
Hayley had surgery to remove her brain tumour nine weeks after her son was born

Hayley, who works as a special needs teacher, said: "I don't meeting Oliver for the first time, which breaks my heart.

"It wasn't until two days later that my memory started coming back. I've since been told the tumour was pressing on the memory part of my brain."

Experts believe Hayley's meningioma - the most common form of adult primary brain tumour - had likely been growing undetected for more than a decade.

Hayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research Hayley sits on a hospital bed wearing a black scoop-neck t-shirtHayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research
Hayley was itted to hospital after her first seizure

Nine weeks after her son's birth, Hayley underwent surgery to remove her meningioma.

"Leaving Oliver that morning, not knowing if I'd see him again, absolutely broke me," she said.

"Until then, I'd been on autopilot but when it came time to say goodbye, the fear just flooded in.

"Thankfully, the operation went as well as it possibly could have, but recovery was tough."

After surgery, Hayley was unable to feed or change Oliver for several weeks.

She was also unable to drive for 12 months and needed to be accompanied in case of further seizures.

"I felt like I'd missed the start of Oliver's life," said Hayley, whose son is now two years old.

"I was grieving that lost time while trying to heal physically and emotionally."

Hayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research Hayley sits in her grey car, behind the steering wheel showing her car keys to the camera. Hayley is wearing brown sunglasses and smiling.Hayley Burrows / Brain Tumour Research
After 12 months without any further seizures, Hayley got her driving licence back

Ashley McWilliams, from Brain Tumour Research, said: "Hayley's story is a powerful reminder of how brain tumours can go unnoticed for years and present with very sudden symptoms."

According to the charity, brain tumours can affect people of all ages.

They are responsible for more deaths of patients aged under 40 than any other form of cancer.

About 12,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour - of which there are more than 100 different types - each year.

The number of diagnoses has increased by 11% during the last decade.

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