7<\/p>\n Danya Persaud (pictured) was diagnosed with acute fatty liver in pregnancy (with her son Kylan)Credit: Dayna Persaud 7<\/p>\n The dangerous condition caused her to itch towards the end of her pregnancy with her son Kylan (pictured)Credit: Dayna Persaud 7<\/p>\n Kylan has just celebrated turning oneCredit: Dayna Persaud<\/p>\n But when the itching grew worse, so intense she was forced to use a wooden fork from a takeaway to try to relieve it, she sought help.<\/p>\n Yet, despite the fact she was left bleeding from her attempts to relieve the itch, it took medics weeks to realise she was suffering a life-threatening condition, putting both her life, and that of her unborn son at risk.<\/p>\n A fortnight before her due date on February 7, 2024, the 36-year-old was whisked into theatre for an emergency C-section<\/a> and woke up with no idea what happened.<\/p>\n Mum-of-three Dayna later discovered she had acute fatty liver in pregnancy (AFLP<\/a>), which can be fatal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more on liver disease<\/p>\n It\u2019s a rare condition affecting about one in 20,000 pregnancies<\/a>, and is more common in first pregnancies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Symptoms include fatigue<\/a>, nausea <\/a>and vomiting<\/a>, as well as itching \u2013 something Dayna suffered to the extreme.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dayna, who is mum to Kayden, nine, Kiara, three, and Kylan, one, tells Sun Health: \u201cIt\u2019s a miracle I am here.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day I am grateful to be alive. If I\u2019d ignored the itching<\/a> much longer I might not be here.\u201d<\/p>\n Dayna, a primary school teacher and lives with partner Kevon, 40, in Rainham, East London, was two weeks from the due date of her third child when she started itching uncontrollably.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her previous pregnancies had been fine so she had no reason to suspect anything dangerous was going on. <\/p>\n ‘Healthy’ woman, 35, died just three days after doctors ‘dismissed’ three red-flag symptoms of killer disease<\/p>\n But the itching grew more intense.<\/p>\n \u201cIt got worse and worse,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was on the soles of my feet, my legs, my back.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy nails would not deliver relief when I scratched so I took a little wooden fork from a local takeaway cafe and would scratch myself with that for hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was going mad with itching and the hard material was the only thing reliving it. I was also excessively thirsty.\u201d<\/p>\n She told her midwife, who did blood tests<\/a>, but these always \u201ccame back fine\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere seemed to be no reason and nothing wrong showing up,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dayna carried on itching and continued scratching herself with a fork.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI bled from the ferocity of my scratching,\u201d she says. \u201cI just hoped it would all stop once I had the baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Kylan looked ‘so strong’ while he was born, Danya saysCredit: Dayna Persaud 7<\/p>\n The mum-of-three is very thankful to still be aroundCredit: Dayna Persaud<\/p>\n \u201cMeanwhile, I was still looking after two other young children. I was exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Dayna had a routine blood test but felt very unwell during the procedure.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was just general pregnancy tiredness as I was nearing my due date,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n When she got home, she had just sat down when her nurse rang to say: \u201cGet to hospital now. You need to have the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n Dayna says: \u201cI was so shocked. I\u2019d just got in and my older two kids were at school and nursery.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to quickly call Kevon to get childcare sorted and then my sister rushed me to hospital without even a hospital bag.\u201d<\/p>\n When she arrived at Whittington Hospital in Archway on January 24, Dayna began to feel even worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI felt dizzy and just incredibly unwell,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Her last memory is getting into the car. Then everything went blank.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t even know what AFLP is, let alone that it could happen after two healthy pregnancies<\/p>\n Danya Persaud 36<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cWhen I came to, I was in intensive care, tubes snaking out of me and my tummy was flatter,\u201d Dayna says.<\/p>\n \u201cI vaguely recalled I\u2019d been pregnant and taken to theatre. <\/p>\n “But my baby wasn\u2019t at my side. I was confused, and cried asking what had happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctors explained she had had her son by emergency caesarean<\/a> section while unconscious, and she had had AFLP.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI had had two babies and that’s why midwives never suspected it, even though I was furiously itching,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n At her bedside, Dayna\u2019s partner revealed that she had developed sepsis<\/a> – a life-threatening response to an infection – and been given a 50\/50 chance of survival.\u00a0<\/p>\n Doctors had saved her life and the baby\u2019s, and given her strong intravenous antibiotics just in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n When she was well enough, Dayna was wheeled to meet her baby, who was in neonatal intensive care.\u00a0<\/p>\n He was healthy and weighed 5lbs 6oz. She named him Kylan.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/i-two-weeks-due-date-998755292.jpg\")
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