Amy, mum to Luna, says,
“At 11 weeks old, we rushed our beautiful daughter Luna to a children’s hospital due to high-pitched crying, a very high temperature and projectile vomiting. As her mum, I was extremely worried and knew deep down that something was wrong, but I still didn’t let my mind consider the possibility of a serious infection.
After a few hours spent in A&E and being observed by senior doctors, she began an intravenous course of antibiotics for suspected meningitis. Bloods were taken, a lumbar puncture was carried out, and we feared the worst. Nearly 48 hours later, we got the results (it was a weekend), and that was the first time I ever heard the term ‘group B Strep’.
Naively, I sighed with relief, assuming it was linked to strep throat, but after a chat with the doctors, I understood more about this bacteria and how serious this infection could be. After ‘googling’, I realised that this bacteria could have been passed on by me during pregnancy, labour or after birth, and the guilt this left me with still hasn’t totally faded away.
Luckily for us, our angel girl got discharged with a clean bill of health 11 days later and she has had no lasting symptoms of the infection. We managed to catch it before it progressed into anything even more serious.
It physically hurts my heart when I think of the other parents who aren’t as lucky as us – and the pain they must be going through. Moreover, the fact that these infections could be prevented by testing and increased awareness of group B Strep and its symptoms.
I hope that by sharing my story, I might encourage parents-to-be to ask about being tested for group B Strep, educate themselves on the symptoms and ultimately remind women always to trust their instincts when it comes to knowing their baby.”
