Dad Ross shares his experience:
“It started with our first child, Tye. My wife Rachel found out that she carried group B Strep after her stitches became infected and she was tested after Tye’s birth. It was the first time we had heard of group B Strep. Thankfully he was fine and with antibiotics my wife made a quick recovery. We were told that if we had another pregnancy she would be given antibiotics in labour and that was all the information given.
During her pregnancy with our daughter Willow, it was picked up in a urine sample that Rachel was positive for group B Strep at 36 weeks. Rachel was given a 7-day course of antibiotics and told they would retest her to check that the antibiotics had cleared it. However, this test did not happen.
Something’s Not Right
Fast forward to 38+ weeks, my wife woke me up saying she thought her waters had broken and she started shaking and shivering uncontrollably. At this stage I started to panic and knew something wasn’t right. We rang EOU, the emergency unit in the maternity hospital. They gave us quite bad advice, telling her to wrap up warm and ‘Ring us in a couple of hours and let us know if you’re any worse or better.’
Rachel got into the bath to warm up and was violently sick. I knew something was clearly wrong, and we rushed up to the hospital. Within minutes of arriving, she was given oxygen, had bloods taken, and things really started to feel scary. Staff told us we were being taken to the labour ward immediately and when we arrived the room was filled with people. Within minutes they were saying, ‘Mum is septic and baby is septic’ and the next thing, Rachel was signing documents for a caesarean birth, before being wheeled off. It went from 15 people in the room to only me. It was definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced.
Beautiful Baby Girl
It felt like forever before the midwife returned and said that mum and baby were ok, she then took my phone to capture pictures of Willow. I was able to see her straight after that and within an hour I got to see Rachel. When Rachel woke, she was very upset and distressed which was hard to watch. For me, it was a relief when we were all together, but a strange experience because I was just grateful that mum and baby were safe, and it didn’t even register until later that day that we had a baby girl!
It’s scary to think what could have happened because the doctors said if it had been any longer it could have resulted in a fatal incident for mother and baby.
Receiving Treatment
The care they received after this was good. Willow showed great signs from the start – thanks to the quick response of the doctors giving her antibiotics. Test results came back that group B Strep infection had caused them both to develop sepsis.
Rachel was treated for sepsis for 10 days. Willow received IV antibiotics through a syringe driver 3-4 times a day, it was constant and a very difficult time for us as a family. As Willow was responding well to the antibiotics, they let mum and baby come home after 11 days. They had to go back to hospital 3 times a day for another 5 days to continue the IV antibiotics at 6am, 2pm and 9pm. This was very hard with a newborn and especially considering we had an 18-month-old baby at home. However, we were just happy to all be home together. The whole treatment process was perfect, and we will be forever thankful.
Reaching Out For Help
It was only after Willow’s experience that we reached out to Group B Strep Support. Although the treatment had been amazing, the information that we were given was very vague. We reached out for more understanding of what happened and how this could be prevented in future pregnancies. The charity was amazing and provided very informative responses which helped us cope mentally and process what had happened.”
Expanding The Family and Advocating For Tests
Ross and Rachel welcomed two more children after Willow – Spencer and Ari – and Rachel tested negative for group B Strep each time. Both pregnancies and planned caesarean births went smoothly.
However, Ross was surprised that during Rachel’s final two pregnancies that the couple had to advocate for group B Strep testing.
‘We were not offered routine tests, we had to push the midwives and doctors. Even during the 12 and 20 week scans they were quite dismissive of testing even after what happened to Rachel, so that was concerning. Although they’d read the notes, we had to force it upon them and say there was a history of group B Strep. It was only then they really investigated it.
Through Rachel’s four pre and post pregnancies the mention of group B Strep was very limited, so I wish we’d been more aware of it and how it can be transmitted before and during vaginal birth.’
Willow is now 4 years old and thankfully neither she nor Rachel have experienced any long-term effects.
