Joey was born at 38 weeks and 5 days after what his parents expected would be a completely normal birth and the start of an exciting new chapter as a family. Instead, within hours of his arrival, their world was turned upside down.
Joey arrived shortly after midnight and initially everything seemed well but only a couple of hours later, his mother, Cerys, became concerned.
“At around 2am, I felt that his breathing didn’t look right. As his mum, I knew something wasn’t quite right.”
She called for the midwives, but was reassured that Joey simply had wind and that this was likely causing what she was seeing. A few hours later, however, she raised the alarm again. This time, it was immediately clear that Joey was seriously unwell.
His oxygen levels were dangerously low and his temperature had dropped. Within minutes, he was rushed to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), where he was placed on CPAP to support his breathing, connected to an intravenous drip and started on antibiotics.
“We went from thinking we were simply spending a few extra hours in hospital with our newborn baby, to being told that he was seriously ill.”
Tests later confirmed that Joey had developed sepsis caused by group B Strep (GBS). For his parents, the diagnosis was devastating.
“It is difficult to put into words what it feels like to learn that your newborn baby has a potentially life-threatening infection that could have been prevented if you had known you were carrying GBS.”
Thankfully, Joey’s infection was identified and treated quickly. But the days that followed were some of the most frightening his family had ever experienced.
Joey spent five days in an incubator, surrounded by tubes, wires and medical equipment. Instead of taking their newborn home and enjoying those precious first days together, his parents found themselves watching monitors, waiting for test results and hoping each day would bring good news. “Joey fought so hard every single day.”
Gradually, signs of improvement began to appear. After five days, Joey was able to move from an incubator into a cot. Little by little, he came off the support he needed and was eventually able to feed from a bottle rather than through a tube.
After 10 long days in Special Care, his parents finally heard the words they had been hoping for: Joey was well enough to go home.
Today, Joey is thriving, and his family remain incredibly grateful for the care that saved his life.
“We feel incredibly lucky and grateful that he made such a strong recovery.”
However, their experience has transformed their understanding of group B Strep. Before Joey became ill, they had no idea that a pregnant woman could carry GBS without any symptoms, or that a seemingly healthy baby could develop life-threatening sepsis just a few hours after birth.
“Those first 10 days of Joey’s life should have been spent at home getting to know our baby, recovering from birth and enjoying becoming a family. Instead, we spent them sitting beside an incubator, watching monitors, waiting for test results and wondering what each day would bring. If a simple swab could identify mothers carrying GBS and allow appropriate antibiotics to be given during labour, potentially preventing babies from becoming seriously ill, we believe parents should be given that choice.”
“Joey was one of the lucky ones. He is home with us, he is growing, and we are finally able to enjoy the newborn days we thought we would have from the beginning.
“But we will never forget how quickly everything changed.”
