A mother-of-eight who rushed into hospital to give birth woke up six days after her C-section to find out that both her legs had been amputated.

During her pregnancy, Ella Clarke, 31, was informed that she had low lying placenta, more commonly known as placenta previa, which means that if not given proper attention, the condition can cause trouble at the time of delivery due to excessive bleeding. Therefore, a C-section section may be needed, as Daily Mail reports.

She was monitored throughout the pregnancy and doctors decided she would need a C-section when the time came. And that what happened.

At 36 weeks, she began to bleed and was transferred to the Torbay Hospital in Torquay, where doctors told her the baby was fine, but it was time to have the C-section.

Ella said that having been through six C-sections already, she was aware of the risks and signed the consent form.

The doctors delivered the baby, but half an hour into the procedure Ella began to lose a lot of blood due to a dangerous complication called placenta accreta, which can be common with women who have had C-sections in the past.

The condition increases the risk of haemorrhage and can even damage other organs.

The doctors performed an emergency hysterectomy and gave her five blood transfusions. Then, she was placed in an induced coma and transferred to intensive care.

Doctors then had to monitor her hourly for the next 24 hours as one of the condition’s dangerous side effects is that it causes problems with blood clotting.

But Ella alleges that doctors forgot to check her and after six hours the blood in her legs had clotted and circulation had stopped.

The surgeons battled to recover circulation in both legs, but it was too late, since her tissue was giving off poisonous toxins that could be potentially fatal.

Doctors informed her husband of the situation and told him that they had to amputate both her legs below the knee in order to save her life.

Although he was ‘shocked’ and ‘devastated’ he told them to do whatever it took to save her life.

Ella has now launched a legal action against the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.