UK Baby Infected with GBS, Mum Wanted Testing During Pregnancy
By Danell Swim
April 23, 2008
Parents of a newborn baby who contracted a potentially deadly illness during childbirth, despite them asking the hospital to test for it, have called for all pregnant women to be screened for the infection.
David-James Moore contracted Group B Streptococcus (GBS), an infection that can cause breathing problems, blood infections and meningitis, at St Helier Hospital, Sutton, when he was born on April 14.
Three days later he was rushed from the family’s home in Crowlands Walk, Morden, to the Evalina Children’s Hospital in Westminster, where his parents were informed by doctors that they had arrived just in time.
David-James’s dad Paul Moore said: “We have been told that another two or three hours and we would have been organising a funeral.”
Mums are not routinely tested for GBS, which is often carried by adults without causing illness but can be passed to children during birth, as medical experts deem it “too expensive” and not always reliable.
But David-James’ mum Donna Moore claimed she specifically asked a midwife for the test for GBS but was told that, as she had given birth to healthy children before, it would not be necessary.
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It’s a horrible story to hear when any baby is affected but the evidence is VERY clear - there is NO benefit to testing for GBS in pregnancy. The test is done here in Aus in wk 36 which give 4-6 weeks for the woman to clear any infection (meaning that treatment is given when not required) or to develop it without it being tested for again (meaning they can have an active level of bacteria at the time of birth).