Hannah’s story

Hannah’s Bell’s palsy came on in the very late stages of pregnancy.

Hannah has her hair up and is wearing a pink top. She is in the early stages of Bell's palsy with one side of her face paralysed.

Hannah developed Bell’s palsy

I was 41 weeks and 6 days pregnant when I got Bell’s palsy. It happened when I was in the maternity unit waiting to be induced but I got sent home as they were at capacity. It affected the right side of my face and started in my eye with little spouts of it twitching, and a headache mainly behind my ear. The nurse took bloods to make sure it wasn’t pre-eclampsia but she ruled that out and sent me home.

On the way home I couldn’t close my right eye and after driving an hour home when we got back we called 111. They sent an ambulance and I was told to go back to the hospital to A&E. We drove another hour back and were seen very quickly. I had a CT scan which ruled out a stroke, and soon after my mouth started to droop and I lost all the feeling in the right side of my face. After a lot of deliberating, I was finally cleared to give birth and was taken in to be induced and had a healthy baby girl.

Hannah is holding her baby girl who has dark hair and is wrapped in a pink blanket. Hannah has her hair up and is smiling on one side.

Hannah with her baby girl

I had a very dry sore eye to start with and really bad intense headaches. Eating wasn’t fun either. Around three months later I saw some signs of improvement – my eye would close but my mouth was still very paralysed. Three months on from that I got a red sore eye and was sent for various tests and given steroids as they thought it was a relapse. The steroids helped my eye, but after stopping them it came back and I went for more tests.

I am 10 months in now at about 80% recovery. It has taken my confidence, my smile and a part of me! I stayed in my house for four months not wanting to see anyone. I hated going shopping or doing day to day outings. I am still hoping for 100% recovery but with every day that passes I fear this may not be the case.


Disclaimer: Please note that views expressed are person’s own and should not be considered a recommendation of particular medical treatments, therapies or surgeries. We would always advise you seek advice from a health professional with experience in facial palsy who can assess your individual needs.