A MUM has shared the heartbreaking moments she watched her newborn baby slowly die from an infection that could have been prevented with a £15 test.
Natalie Lockyer’s daughter Quin developed Group B Strep infection (GBS) in the fifth week of her life, a bug the mum had unknowingly passed onto her during labour.
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“A simple swab could have saved my daughter’s life, and we weren’t even offered it,” Natalie, from Suffolk, tells the Sun.
“We now have to live in a world without Quin, and it’s awful.”
Group B Strep is a type of streptococcal bacteria that is very “normal” and lives in one-fifth of all women’s vaginas and guts, Professor Philip Steer, an obstetrician from Imperial College London, said.
“It’s usually harmless but can cause infection in newborn babies when the bacteria are passed to the baby, and this most often happens during labour or after birth,” he added.
Most babies with a GBS infection make a full recovery, but some develop serious conditions such as sepsis or meningitis. It can also lead to death.
Natalie, 32 and her husband, James, 38 – who both work for the civil service are now calling for Strep B testing to be available to all mums-to-be.
Campaigners say the test could cost the NHS as little as £11. Medics say the price is likely slightly higher at around £15 to £20 per test.
“Even if the NHS doesn’t want to pay for us, give parents the chance to pay for it themselves – let us know the risks,” the mum says.
“I can’t think of any parents who would turn such a potentially life-saving test down.”
‘I thought she probably had a cold’
Natalie has also backed a campaign to put the infection on the notifiable disease list, which would mean case numbers are tracked.
Their baby Quin was born ” perfectly healthy” on December 6, 2022.
“She was a very easy and happy baby,” Natalie says, “much unlike her naughty older brother Cooper (now three)”.
Just five weeks after Quin was taken home, the mum noticed changes in her newborn.
“She suddenly started getting vocal, cried a lot and struggled to eat properly,” she explains.
The baby then started snoring at night and “grunted” often during the day when she tried to feed.
“Initially, I thought she probably had a cold; it was winter, after all,” Natalie says. “But then she stopped eating altogether.”
I was asked many times by lots of different doctors if I had received this swab test, but I hadn’t even heard of it
Natalie Lockyer
On January 10, the concerned parents drove the the West Suffolk Hospital “just to be on the safe side”.
Doctors said the baby likely had an infection after noticing her heart rate was high and her skin very pale.
By the next morning, Quin had rapidly deteriorated.
Her heart rate had “skyrocketed” even further, and her oxygen levels had “massively” dropped,” the mum recalls.
“Doctors were rushing crash carts in; it was all very scary,” she adds.
The tiny baby was then hooked up to a ventilator to help her breathe and blue-lighted straight to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), where they were better set up to provide more intensive care.
Tests later revealed she was battling late-onset Group B Strep infection – which had ravaged her body and was “clinging” to her heart.
Natalie said she had never heard of the bug or been warned of any of its symptoms by doctors.
“If I had known about it, I would have rushed her into hospital far sooner,” she explains.
At GOSH, Quin was seen by a team of international medics, all of whom were “shocked” the mum had not been offered a GBS test during pregnancy.
“I was asked many times by lots of different doctors if I had received this swab, but I hadn’t even heard of it,” she recalls
“They just couldn’t believe I hadn’t even been offered a test.”
The UK does not routinely test mums-to-be for GBS, unlike many other high-income developed countries, such as the United States, Canada, Germany, France, and Spain.
Currently, patients can only access the tests privately for around £40, or in certain NHS hospitals.
The test involves taking a swab sample from the vagina and rectum a few weeks before the due date.
Over the next few weeks in hospital, Quin got progressively more unwell and was put on a cocktail of drugs to keep her heart pumping.
“Lots of wires and tubes were coming out of her, it was heartbreaking to see,” the mum says.
Tragically, doctors said that Quin was too small for a potentially life-saving heart transplant.
On February 11, just two months after she was born, Quin’s parents then made the impossibly difficult decision to turn off her life support before her condition got any worse.
“We were at that point where she was at risk of dying of something massive, like a heart attack.
‘Testing could save many babies’ lives’
“So we decided to let her go peacefully.”
The UK currently prevents GBS by assessing a range of risk factors to determine whether a woman should be offered antibiotics during labour.
However, according to Dr Phillip, the routine test Nataline calls for “could save many babies’ lives”.
“If the UK introduced routine testing and saw the same drop in infection rates as other countries that offer the test, we could prevent around 350 babies each year from developing GBS infection, saving 15 babies’ lives and protecting another 15 from life-changing disabilities.”
Critics of routine preventative testing argue that too many women would be given antibiotics in labour, which comes with risks such as life-threatening anaphylaxis in the mother and anti-microbial resistance.
Oliver Plumb, from the charity Group B Strep Support, said, “Natalie and Quinn’s story is tragic.
“Sadly, too many families in the UK are affected by group B Strep, and that’s why it’s so important every baby is counted.”
The charity has called for GBS to be a notifiable disease to make it a legal responsibility for infections to be reported.
He added that current figures could be “missing around one-fifth of the infections”.
A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “Our sympathies go out to the families affected.
“Last year, the government launched a consultation to determine if other diseases should be made notifiable to strengthen surveillance of infectious diseases.
“The department, along with the UK Health Security Agency, is considering the responses and will update in due course.”
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GBS: What is it?
How common is Group B Strep?
An average of two babies in the UK develop a GBS infection each day, according to GBS Support.
Most recover fully but one baby each week dies from the infection, and one baby each week recovers with a life-changing disability.
Around 800 babies a year develop Group B Strep infection, around 50 babies will die and 75 will survive with a long-term disability.
What are the signs of a Group B Strep infection?
The NHS advises parents to dial 999 or go to A&E if a baby develops the following symptoms:
- Being floppy or unresponsive
- Grunting when breathing, or working hard to breathe when you look at their chest or stomach
- Very fast or slow breathing
- A very fast or slow heart rate
- An unusually high or low temperature
- Changes in their skin colour or blotchy skin
- Not feeding well or vomiting
- An unusually fast or slow heart rate
Most early-onset infections show within the first 12 hours of birth but can develop up to seven days after.
Late-onset infections are much rarer but can develop up to three months after birth.
What is the treatment?
If a baby tests positive for GBS, they will be given intravenous antibiotics. The majority of babies can be effectively treated with penicillin.
Some will require treatment from a specialist neonatal intensive care unit.
Rachel Carter is a health and wellness expert dedicated to helping readers lead healthier lives. With a background in nutrition, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being.
