Roseanna was born on 4 November 2025 at 38 weeks. I knew about Group B Strep before this pregnancy. I had previously tested positive for GBS and had already experienced the devastating impact of GBS when one of my older daughters developed GBS meningitis. Because of this history, GBS was discussed during my pregnancy, and I tested positive again through an NHS vaginal and rectal swab.
On the day I went into labour, I had a sweep and was already 4 cm dilated. I then attended hospital for a growth scan and was sent home due to a lack of beds, despite being told that I needed antibiotics in labour. Tragically, I didn’t receive the vital antibiotics before Roseanna was born.
Roseanna was discharged home after birth without antibiotics or additional checks.
At just 16 days old, on 21 November 2025, everything changed. Roseanna took her morning feed as normal but then vomited, which was unusual for her. When it was time for her next feed, she wouldn’t wake up. As we began packing a bag to take her to hospital, she suddenly became floppy and her eyes started to roll back.
We rushed her to the children’s A&E department. A nurse immediately took her into a side room. She had no temperature, but her heart rate was 220 beats per minute. Doctors began administering fluids and attempting to gain vein access. She was transferred to the children’s ward, but her condition continued to deteriorate rapidly. She required oxygen, and soon doctors were rushing in from all directions.
An intensive care doctor told us our baby was critically unwell and needed to be ventilated and transferred to another hospital. They were treating her for suspected sepsis. Roseanna was too poorly at that time to undergo a lumbar puncture. I made staff aware again of my positive GBS status during pregnancy and the fact that I had not received antibiotics in labour.
Roseanna underwent emergency surgery for three hours to stabilise her so she could be transferred. When we arrived at the specialist hospital, she was admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Doctors worked on her for three more hours before I was allowed to see her. It felt like days not knowing if she would survive.
Roseanna was diagnosed with Group B Strep sepsis and meningitis, confirmed by blood tests and lumbar puncture. This was my second baby to suffer from GBS, and my heart shattered. Her condition continued to worsen, and she developed uncontrollable seizures. Brain scans showed that meningitis had caused damage in multiple areas of her brain.
After three days, doctors began reducing her sedation. Forty-eight hours passed with no response. We were told to call our family in. Roseanna was baptised at the side of her cot, as we were prepared to say goodbye.
Thirty-six hours later, she showed the first small sign of life — she started moving her toes. A week later, she woke up, but with nerve damage affecting her right eye. She still couldn’t fully open it.
After four and a half weeks in hospital and prolonged antibiotic treatment, our miracle girl continued to improve. Roseanna is now living with epilepsy and has ongoing feeding difficulties. We have been told she may never walk, though only time will tell.
GBS has affected our entire family deeply. We live with constant fear of Roseanna becoming unwell again, and we face the long-term impact of this illness every day.
If we had been listened to when I attended hospital on the day of my growth scan, things may have been very different. We are eternally grateful to the doctors who fought to save our little girl’s life, and we are determined to raise awareness so that no other family has to endure what we have.
