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Siobhan Barling's son James had to be delivered six weeks early after she was hit by an e-bike as she crossed a road in Poole, Dorset
A woman who was hit by an e-bike as she used a pedestrian crossing has spoken about how she feared her unborn baby had died in the collision.
Siobhan Barling, 30, was hit as she crossed Herbert Avenue in Poole at about 15:50 GMT on 26 January.
She was 34 weeks pregnant with her third son at the time, and her baby, James, was born six weeks prematurely and seriously ill as a result.
"The first thing I said was 'he's dead' because I'd felt him move and then instantly I couldn't feel him moving any more.
"I just kept thinking he's dead, my baby's gone. That's it."
Baby James spent four days in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital following his premature birth
The e‑bike, which was carrying a pillion passenger and described by Dorset Police as an "adapted electrically assisted pedal cycle or mountain bike", did not stop at the scene.
Siobhan was helped by passers-by before a family member arrived and took her to hospital.
She was seen at Poole Hospital's A&E before being transferred by ambulance to the maternity unit at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
"When I got into the ambulance I started getting contractions, and I thought 'no'," Siobhan said.
The medical team decided to deliver James by emergency Caesarean section.
"I cried and I screamed. I knew that they were doing it for the right reasons, I was completely understanding of that, but there was every little part of me that said 'is there nothing else we can do? Is there no other way?'
"Since they said that he was coming early, my first worry was 'is he going to be born OK? Are his lungs going to be developed enough to work?'"
Siobhan said she was more fearful of going out now and tried to avoid the pedestrian crossing where the crash happened
After James was born, he spent four days in the neonatal intensive care unit, where he had to be tube-fed, and was put on a machine to help his breathing.
Siobhan has praised the care James received at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
"I'm grateful for the staff there because I think had they not been as good as they were, my whole journey there would have been absolutely abysmal, because I felt really, really rubbish," she said.
Siobhan and her husband have been warned that James may have problems with his eyes, lungs and stomach because of his premature birth.
"Every single day now I'm on panic mode thinking 'if he chokes on his sick is he going to stop breathing because his lungs are still quite small because he's so premature'... The worry hasn't gone away."
Siobhan was 34 weeks pregnant and using a pedestrian crossing (pictured) on Herbert Avenue, Poole, when she was hit by the e-bike
James is home now, and doing well.
Siobhan is also recovering from her injuries, after she developed a haematoma in her stomach, and was left with tissue damage to her hip.
However, the impact of the collision has gone beyond her physical injuries.
"The main thing is fear," she said. "When I do have to use that crossing, I'm terrified of it. We walk a different way to school. Whenever I do go there I've had major panic attacks.
"People are so in a rush to get everywhere these days that they don't always stop and think about everybody around them.
"Maybe the accident wouldn't have happened if everyone slowed down a little bit."
Dorset Police is continuing to investigate the collision.
