A couple whose baby died at just 19 days of age is asking doctors to regularly test for the widespread infection that took their son’s life.
Craig Pollard, 37, from Cornwall, and Sarah Doolin, 34, had every new parent’s worst nightmare last month when Ezrah fell seriously ill without warning.
Ezrah initially showed signs of restlessness and loss of appetite. However, his family got worried and when he started growling, he called 111 and his fever went up.
They claim that an hour after they were told to wait for an ambulance, they called 999 to learn that the ambulance would not come, so they took him to the emergency room alone.
Despite the doctors fighting to save Ezrah, he developed sepsis and meningitis from the group B strep infection.
Now his parents hope that despite his short life, Ezrah’s story will help him avoid the same pain other families have endured.
They ask for more information about routine screening and GBS “to avoid comparing other parents to the painful loss we have suffered sadly”.
Strep B is common in pregnant women and rarely causes problems, so it is not routinely tested. But on average, one child dies from the infection every week in the UK. It can be passed from mother to child during birth.
Although doctors fought to save the three-week-old baby, she contracted sepsis and meningitis from group B strep infection (GBS or Strep B) and suffered severe brain damage, meaning she could not be saved.
Craig Pollard (right), 37, and Sarah Doolin (left) of St Martin in Cornwall had all their parents’ worst nightmares when newborn Ezrah (center) passed away last month.
His parents revealed that Ezrah fell ill “very suddenly” on March 23, when he was just two weeks old.
Pollard said that when they arrived at Truro’s Royal Cornwall Hospital, Ezrah was “discolored” and his skin was mottled.
He was first treated at the Royal Cornwall Hospital before being transferred by ambulance to Bristol Children’s Hospital.
Doctors diagnosed him with sepsis and meningitis because of GBS.
Mr Pollard said: “We were told that if we waited half an hour, he would die at home.
“Most of the stories we read have a long time for parents’ babies to deteriorate, but sadly with Ezrah it only got worse in a few hours.”
Strep B is a bacteria found in the vagina and intestines of 20% to 40% of UK women and usually causes no symptoms or damage. It can also affect men.
Less than one in 2,000 mothers transmit the infection to their babies at birth, which can lead to sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia.
Despite his struggle to save the newborn, Ezrah suffered severe brain damage and died on March 25, just 19 days after birth.
On a charity fundraising page, the couple wrote, “We are devastated to lose our baby and our future with him. We miss him tremendously.’
They added: “Ezra remains a shining light in our memories; He was loved and we will miss him forever.’
They said that routine screening and more comprehensive information about Strep B should be available “to avoid confronting other parents with the painful loss we are sadly going through.”
Screening is not offered as standard to all pregnant women in the UK.
The UK government’s National Screening Committee rejected a program in 2017 that vilified all pregnant women for GBS and gave antibiotics to those who tested positive for not being “cheap”.
The infection is sometimes found during routine vaginal and rectal swabs or urine tests during pregnancy.
If bacteria are found during pregnancy, or if a pregnant woman has a baby with a previous strep infection, antibiotics will be given during delivery to reduce the risk of passing the infection to the baby.
On average in the UK, two babies develop infections every day and one baby dies every week.
Pollard said, “Our idea is that we want to create as much awareness as possible. “We don’t want anyone to go through the hell we live in.”
His family hopes that despite his short life, little Ezrah’s story will help him avoid the same pain other families have endured.
His family hopes that Ezrah’s story will help him avoid the same pain other families have endured.
“Our thinking is that we want to raise as much awareness as possible,” Pollard said.
“We don’t want anyone else to experience the hell we went through.”
Parents have created a commemorative fundraiser page that has raised over £5,900 to date to support the two charities.
One is The Grand Appeal, which funds Bristol Children’s Hospital, including the Watch ambulance service that transports Ezrah to the hospital.
The second is Group B Strep Support, a charity dedicated to eliminating infection in children.
“We chose Group B strep support along with the Great Appeal because we want more to be done to protect children and parents from such a devastating infection,” the couple said.
Source: Daily Mail
I am Anne Johnson and I work as an author at the Fashion Vibes. My main area of expertise is beauty related news, but I also have experience in covering other types of stories like entertainment, lifestyle, and health topics. With my years of experience in writing for various publications, I have built strong relationships with many industry insiders. My passion for journalism has enabled me to stay on top of the latest trends and changes in the world of beauty.
