(Carlotta is Hugo’s little sister – you can read Hugo’s late-onset GBS story here)
Just before Hugo’s (our first born) half birthday, we found out we were pregnant again. This time, with a baby girl…and the gap was only going to be 14 months!
My Hubbie and I were obviously keen to avoid a repeat of what happened to Hugo especially in light of research which suggests that when a baby has developed a serious group B Strep infection, any future siblings will be at a substantially increased risk of developing group B Strep infection.
So, we put in place as many measures as possible. We had Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and D in case my waters broke before contractions started. We knew that at least one dose of antibiotics in labour (ideally two) before delivery was preferable. We also “fool-proofed” our home with hospital grade soap and anti-bacterial sanitizer. Each changing bag had the same. We were ready; bring it on, GBS!
Then, Carlotta was born; a healthy, happy and beautiful baby girl.
She was tested for GBS within two hours of being delivered and we were kept in hospital for 48 hours where she was given a low dose of antibiotics, as a precautionary measure. No sign of GBS. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
We were discharged and, of course, had visitors. However, this time, we insisted that everyone who wanted to hold the newborn, wash their hands first or had a spritz of the sanitiser. Everyone was more than happy to oblige and once we reached the 3-month magical time period (the risk of GBS infections past this point drops significantly), we relaxed a little.
We will never forget what happened to Hugo or indeed the preventative measures we had to put in place for our daughter, and the fact that typing this story still brings tears to my eyes suggests that I am still not fully healed. Question is, will I ever be? Probably not, but if telling our story helps prevent someone else’s baby getting sick or at the very least educates someone about the potential outcomes of a GBS infections, then that eases the pain a little bit.
