Mum Niamh tells us how her newborn son Ezra battled group B Strep sepsis and how it has impacted her entire family.
From just 13 weeks into my pregnancy, I was in and out of hospital with bladder and kidney infections. I was told it was completely normal—but in my gut, I knew something wasn’t right.
At around 23 weeks, I ended up in hospital again with a severe infection and reduced movement. I’d developed another kidney infection, and this time my son’s heart rate was dropping. I was rushed toward a c-section, but we managed to stabilise him beforehand and they took swabs.
A week later, I received a letter saying I had tested positive for group B Strep, but there was no information about what it was or what it meant.
At 36 weeks I went into slow labour, they explained that when I was in active labour I would get an IV drip with antibiotics to clear the infection to prevent infection spreading.
When I went into labour I was unaware of what was happening, I was in labour for a week prior but it got worse. When I got to hospital I was 5cm dilated and did not receive antibiotics for hours after this.
My son was born but he was grunting and created fluid bubbles from his mouth. He was mostly limp but I was told he was okay and was in shock. I was able to hold him for a small amount of time before a team came in and he was taken for tests.
It was confirmed he had tested positive for Group B Strep sepsis. He needed antibiotics and help with breathing. He stayed in hospital for over a week.
My son is now a happy and healthy 5-year-old—but because of the infection, he lives with cerebral palsy.
GBS has had both positive and negative impacts on my whole family. It made us aware of what it is, and we’ve pushed for swabs and encouraged friends to get tested during their pregnancies. During my second pregnancy, reading stories, engaging with posts, and finding information on the charity’s webpage helped ease my anxiety and gave me confidence to create a treatment plan for labour.
But it’s also brought fear and heartache. Knowing that GBS led to my son being so unwell—and developing cerebral palsy because of it—has created a lot of fear for future pregnancies.
