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General health

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Original poster

strep b meningitis

17 replies

clewin · 06/10/2006 22:42

my son suffered from strep b when he was just 11days old. He was in hospital for 3 weeks and was close to dying. He had blood test after blood test, lumba puncter along with having a general aneasthetic to insert a line for his antibiotics. He's our first baby and it was so scary to watch him suffer. We spoke to my consultant on wednesday who admitted it was down to costs as to why women arent swabbed when their pregnant. I think this is dreadful, how can they let baby's suffer or even die because they cant 'afford' to swab women! Turned out i have had 3 swabs when I had bleeds in early pregnancy yet the results were never followed up! Has anyone else had a smiliar experience

OP posts:

nearlythree · 06/10/2006 22:53

I haven't, but this sounds just awful. How is your little boy now?

Original poster

clewin · 06/10/2006 22:54

he is alomost 16 weeks and has made a full recovery but he will have to be monitored until he is 2 as it can cause development problems

OP posts:

nearlythree · 06/10/2006 22:58

Thank God he's okay. My dd1 had to be monitored for 2 yrs but in the end it was only for 1 as she did so well, but she wasn't as poorly as your ds.

So how are you and dh doing?

nearlythree · 06/10/2006 23:07

clewin, am off to bed now. Hope to catch up tomorrow.

MNHQ

OliviaMumsnet · 06/10/2006 23:08

Hi Clewin
You're reporting to Mumsnet HQ by mistake - the red exclamation mark on the right hand side is for messages that Mumsnetters consider to be offensive and want HQ to know about.
To reply, please scroll to the bottom of the conversation and hit the Post message button.
HTH
Olivia MNHQ

nearlythree · 07/10/2006 10:01

Hi, clewin, hope you are still around, it takes ages to get the hang of this place, doesn't it?

vitomum · 07/10/2006 10:12

clewin what an absolute nightmare for you. I found out i had this when ds was 3 days old. i had been swabbed a week earlier when my waters broke but it took all that time to get the results back. i found this oraganisation very helpful. They provide advice and campaign for good practice in managing strep b

strepBinfo

amyjade · 07/10/2006 10:39

Hi Clewin

I'm so glad your son is ok. I know how awefull it must have been for you.

While i was pregnant with Dd2 my 19 month old daughter Freya sadly died from Pneumococcal meningitis, so towards the end of my pregnancy i was obviously extremely concerned about Group B Strep.I was swabbed at 32 and 37 weeks but was never given the results. I went into labour at 38 weeks and after 9 hours of labour i was given an emergancy cesarian.
I spent 5 days in hospital and as i was handed my discharge letter i noticed in big letters all over my notes Group B Strep carrier!!
I had tested positive on both swabs and nobody had checked!!!
I should have been given antibiotics as soon as labour had started and Dd2 should have been observed more closely. I know babies are less likely to contract Group B Strep when they are born by cesarian but that's not the point Freya had only just died 8 weeks prior to Dd2's birth.
Luckily Dd2 was fine but the outcome could have been different. it just makes me angry that they knew my situation and still they didn't check.

Original poster

clewin · 07/10/2006 13:47

vitomum. My son was born by c section too which as you say makes it harder to pass over strep b but again it still happens. I cant believe that the nhs is so relaxed about it, and as for not checking the results of swabs is appauling. why do them in the first place? you put all your trust in midwives to ensure that everything is fine with your baby yet they dont do their jobs properly and it leads to new borns getting so ill. i am sorry to hear about your daughter passing away, you would think in your situation they would ensure they took all precautions

OP posts:

Original poster

clewin · 07/10/2006 13:50

sorry vitomum i really aoplogise i saw your name under the previous comment and thought it attached with yours. i am really sorry for the mistake...forgive me?

OP posts:

Original poster

clewin · 07/10/2006 13:53

amyjade the message i sent to vitomum was supposed to be for you please read and thanks for the strepb link

OP posts:

vitomum · 07/10/2006 13:57

That's OK, don't worry. I totally agree that it is unbelievable that they are so realxed about it all. I did query at the time ehat the poibt was in taking the swab if it was going to take so long to get the result back that there would be no action they could take anyway - i just got something mutered about the lab being slow, the weekend etc etc. I was just releived that ds was OK and also totally out of it after a 4 dat labour. But i will be prepared to argue for better treatment if i am ever pg again.

vitomum · 07/10/2006 13:58

oh, my apologies for horrendous typos on that last post!

Original poster

clewin · 07/10/2006 14:35

When my son was in hosp I wanted to fight the world and tell everyone I could about gbs but now I feel that whatever we do it will never change and they will always find some reason not carrying out the swabs. I just wish I'd known about this before i was pregant or even whilst I was pregnant and thats what i want for other women. My consultant told me that it is not always 'wise' to give antibiotics when a woman carriers gbs as it can cause more problems, that left me wondering what would happen when I have my second child?

OP posts:

Original poster

clewin · 07/10/2006 14:39

if anyone has suffered from a similar experience as myself my email add is [email protected]. I am still coming to terms with what happened to my son and I think speaking to women who have gone through what we went through may help and hopefully i will help you

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vitomum · 07/10/2006 15:07

i am not a big expert on this clewin but i believe there are lots of difficulties with testing / treatment. i also wonder what will happen if i am pg again and i will def seek advice from the support line. i had a very positive experience with them when HV's started humming and haaing about whether ds might still be at risk. i am not suprised that you are still coming to terms with it all. i think it takes a lot to get over any of the traumas associated with birth. i can still sometimes dwell on the horrors of ds's birth and lots of things bring it all back. the thing that i clung onto was that ds was OK so i can only begin to imagine how horrendous it would have been to be without that. take care x

franca70 · 07/10/2006 15:37

Hi clewin, I can only just imagine how scary it must have been for you. I had dd here in england and wasn't tested for strep b. she ran a high temperature when she was three days old and stopped feeding. I panicked and we took her to hospital. she had all the tests done, and she was very poor. luckily she just had a viral infection and started to get better a few days later. still, I strongly feel that every woman should be tested for b strep, like it's done everywhre in europe. don't understand why england should be an exception.

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