'I thought kidney failure meant I'd never be a mum'

Tendai and Crispen welcomed their son, Zane, into the world in January

When Tendai Chisambara was told she needed to undergo dialysis for her chronic kidney disease she was also told it would be practically impossible to conceive whilst receiving treatment.

According to a recent study, in the six years between 2008 to 2014 just 584 women worldwide gave birth successfully while undergoing dialysis.

But, against all the odds, in 2023 Tendai received the unexpected news she was pregnant and in January gave birth to her son, Zane.

Tendai, 36, came to Sheffield from Zimbabwe with her family aged 14.

She was studying at University in Bradford when she was first diagnosed with kidney failure aged 20.

“My feet would be really swollen after uni. I used to elevate them but they weren’t getting better so my parents persuaded me to go to the hospital," she said.

Doctors in Sheffield informed her that her kidney function was deteriorating slowly and she would need medication, dialysis and ultimately a transplant.

She was also advised that “putting another body in my body would mean my kidney would be under too much strain”.

During pregnancy healthy kidneys have to work overtime to keep the blood clean whilst the baby releases wastes into the mother’s blood stream.

For women whose kidneys do not work pregnancy is even harder on the body and more frequent dialysis is recommended to keep the blood as clean as possible.

Tendai and Crispen had started to look into surrogacy when Tendai became pregnant

While Tendai said she was initially able to come to terms with the double bombshell, she said it had become harder as time wore on.

“When my boyfriend became my husband we managed it together. I was on medication and we got used to the routine," she said.

"But then all our friends started having babies and I was going to lots of baby showers."

She said she and her husband, Crispen, had started to look into surrogacy when, unexpectedly, she fell pregnant.

“I didn’t believe it. It couldn’t be real. I showed my husband the test," she said.

"We bought four more pregnancy tests to make sure."

During her pregnancy she was monitored frequently by multiple health care teams including an obstetrician, midwife, kidney doctor, dialysis nurse and kidney dietician at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

She had to go into hospital three times a week during the pregnancy for dialysis and her baby’s progress was continually monitored via frequent ultrasound scans to identify and treat problems early.

Tendai said she and Crispen "didn't believe it" when it turned out she was pregnant

Dr Veena Reddy, Consultant Nephrologist, said: “Successful pregnancies in women on dialysis are extremely rare.

"The level of care and coordination between several specialist teams including the renal team, dieticians, anaesthetists and the maternal medicine team at Jessop Wing has been phenomenal."

Just after Zane’s birth in January, there came another twist in Tendai’s story.

A kidney donor had been found and she was earmarked for a transplant.

However, she made the difficult decision to turn down the offer, saying she wanted to make sure her son was looked after first.

“If I had the transplant I would have had to give up holding my baby," she said.

"I wouldn’t be able to breast feed him. I couldn’t do that.”

Having made the decision to decline the transplant, Tendai is now back on the waiting list.

She no longer requires weekly dialysis, but is still taking medication for her condition.

But, she said it had all been worth it to become a mother, saying: "He is incredible. He smiles at everyone. He must know he is a miracle.”

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