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FINLEY GENEVIEVE — USA
Lived September 28, 2017 to September 29, 2017 Early-onset Mother's GBS Status: Tested negative Gestational Age: 39 weeks Age harmed: 18 hours old |
I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks December 2015, was then told by fertility specialists I didn’t have great ovaries to have my own baby. January 26, 2017 we found out I was pregnant so for the 9 months we knew this precious girl was our miracle baby. I had a fantastic pregnancy.
At week 36 I was tested for GBS and the result was negative, I was relieved and my doctor never mentioned that I could contract GBS up until I gave birth. If I would’ve known that I would’ve pushed further for another test or to have Finley tested.
At 8:16pm on September 28, 2017 our gorgeous girl was born and she was perfect. The hour that I was able to hold her was the best hour of my life. My husband fed her, changed her and was in awe of her. She did show signs of grunting fairly quickly but no one thought much of it.
At around 4am the nurses took Finley to the nursery and at 7am a respiratory therapist came in calmly stating that perhaps Finley had a small respiratory infection. They told us not to worry, they’re the professionals so we didn’t worry. At around 11am the NICU team has us come see Finley as her vitals were dropping and they wanted to transfer her to the children’s hospital.
When Finley heard our voices her vitals spiked. It brought tears to my eyes. She seemed better. At around 1pm we got a call to come quickly as Finley was fading. My husband and I were in shock, felt like we were living in a nightmare in slow motion. We rushed to her side, had her baptized and mommy held her sweet girl while she died in my arms.
It all happened so fast all I keep crying out is “what is happening to our daughter??” No one could tell us. A neonatologist had a thought that it might be GBS and I said “no way,” I was negative. That’s where I found out GBS can change day to day. My husband and I found out 24 hours later that Finley indeed died from GBS since her blood work didn’t come back until then. We just had our first Christmas without our baby girl and the hole in our hearts is so large, death is endless pain. We miss you our sweet little girl. You deserved better.
Kelli Smith ~ USA
Kelli shares GBS info by word of mouth, but would like to do more.
Kelli's subsequent pregnancy story
At week 36 I was tested for GBS and the result was negative, I was relieved and my doctor never mentioned that I could contract GBS up until I gave birth. If I would’ve known that I would’ve pushed further for another test or to have Finley tested.
At 8:16pm on September 28, 2017 our gorgeous girl was born and she was perfect. The hour that I was able to hold her was the best hour of my life. My husband fed her, changed her and was in awe of her. She did show signs of grunting fairly quickly but no one thought much of it.
At around 4am the nurses took Finley to the nursery and at 7am a respiratory therapist came in calmly stating that perhaps Finley had a small respiratory infection. They told us not to worry, they’re the professionals so we didn’t worry. At around 11am the NICU team has us come see Finley as her vitals were dropping and they wanted to transfer her to the children’s hospital.
When Finley heard our voices her vitals spiked. It brought tears to my eyes. She seemed better. At around 1pm we got a call to come quickly as Finley was fading. My husband and I were in shock, felt like we were living in a nightmare in slow motion. We rushed to her side, had her baptized and mommy held her sweet girl while she died in my arms.
It all happened so fast all I keep crying out is “what is happening to our daughter??” No one could tell us. A neonatologist had a thought that it might be GBS and I said “no way,” I was negative. That’s where I found out GBS can change day to day. My husband and I found out 24 hours later that Finley indeed died from GBS since her blood work didn’t come back until then. We just had our first Christmas without our baby girl and the hole in our hearts is so large, death is endless pain. We miss you our sweet little girl. You deserved better.
Kelli Smith ~ USA
Kelli shares GBS info by word of mouth, but would like to do more.
Kelli's subsequent pregnancy story
To learn more about Perinatal & GBS Misconceptions, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of Preterm Labor, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of GBS Infection, click HERE.
To learn more about Why Membranes Should NOT Be Stripped, click HERE.
To learn more about How to Help Protect Your Baby from Group B Strep (GBS), click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of Preterm Labor, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of GBS Infection, click HERE.
To learn more about Why Membranes Should NOT Be Stripped, click HERE.
To learn more about How to Help Protect Your Baby from Group B Strep (GBS), click HERE.