Just days after giving birth to her son, Roxie Rhodes Cubillo-Barsi developed life-threatening sepsis following an emergency caesarean section.
Quick action from a midwife and NHS staff saved her life. Now, sharing her story to help raise awareness, Roxie wants other new parents to know the symptoms and speak up if something feels wrong.
First-time mum Roxie, then aged 31, from York, had a pregnancy that ended with a difficult labour and an emergency C-section in April 2023.
“I haemorrhaged during surgery and was very weak, so I was kept in hospital,” Roxie said. “On day two or three I started to feel shaky, almost like I had a temperature, but it wasn’t consistent. I mentioned it to staff who monitored me slightly but weren’t concerned.”
The following day things changed suddenly. “My husband helped me shower and as he was bringing me back I got significantly worse,” Roxie said. “A midwife noticed something was very wrong – I was shaking so much and my skin looked grey.”
Roxie remembers little after that.
“My memory is confused and blurry. I was rushed into the special care unit on maternity and just remember a feeling of doom and being so, so worried for my tiny son as I knew he needed me,” she said.
Her condition deteriorated within minutes: “One minute I was holding my newborn, the next I was crashing, hooked up to antibiotics and blood transfusions, barely hanging on. I found a photo from that time recently and honestly, I didn’t even recognise myself. I looked like I was already gone.”
Believing she might not survive, Roxie began giving her husband instructions for life without her.
“The idea of Ollie growing up without his mum is something that still haunts me every single day,” she said.
Thanks to the swift recognition of sepsis by the midwife and the rapid response of the NHS team, Roxie pulled through.
“I’m so damn thankful I survived. Thankful for the incredible midwife who spotted the signs early and acted fast. Thankful for the NHS team who fought so hard to save me. And thankful I get to wake up every morning and be Ollie’s mum,” Roxie said.
The experience has left lasting effects, though. It impacted Roxie’s plans to breastfeed.
She said: “I tried for three months but my milk would never come in properly. I actually hired an NHS grade breast pump on a big stand. I was pumping for hours a day and would get drops. I felt deeply upset about this, like I was failing. In the end, Ollie had to be bottle fed.”
“I’m also more prone to infections since surviving sepsis, but a few years on I’m doing much better,” Roxie added. “It’s changed me forever. It’s made me more determined to live life fully – there’s a huge world I still want to show my son.”
She is now focused on raising awareness – and wants other new mums to be empowered to speak up if something doesn’t feel right, especially after a traumatic birth.
“Speak up about symptoms, don’t let anyone fob you off,” Roxie said. “I spoke up about mine but no one was concerned. Know the symptoms. No family should have to face this.”
