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FREDDY FRANK - AUSTRALIA
Born January 21, 2020 Late-onset Mother's GBS Status: Tested negative Gestational Age: 42 weeks Age Harmed: 7 days old |
At 37 weeks I was tested for GBS and was given a negative result. Before giving birth, at 39 and 40 weeks I had 4 membrane stretches. At 41 weeks pregnant my waters broke and 19 hours later Freddy was born, no antibiotics were given or offered.
Freddy was born beautiful and healthy. Freddy is my second child and I kept saying to the midwife and my family I can’t believe how sleepy he is. However he seemed to be healthy and well. On day 7 of his life, he was screaming in pain. My midwife visited for a routine check and we thought it was wind pains as he only wanted to be held by me (his mum) and was screaming in pain. Then he went to sleep. I kept trying to wake him to feed but he wouldn’t wake. His last feed was at 5am.
It was 9am and I took his temp and he wouldn’t really wake. It was 38.8 so I immediately took him to the hospital. We got there at 9:15am and we were seen by the nurses and doctors straight away. He seemed ok. They were doing all the routine checks. They had to do a lumbar puncture and began giving antibiotics. Then while we were there Freddy began to deteriorate in front of the doctors. He wasn’t able to breathe and then all of a sudden they were setting up for resus. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart and mind could not connect to what was happening to my healthy baby boy.
We were at a local hospital and they said they were getting doctors and an ambulance from the biggest hospital in Australia to come and collect him. This hospital was 1 hour away. When the ambulance arrived the doctors came in and put a pic line in and incubated Freddy and we were rushed to the Brisbane Children's Hospital. Everything the doctors had said could maybe happen worse case scenario was happening right in front of our eyes. It was heart breakingly shocking, every second.
In Brisbane Children's ICU unit he was incubated for 5 days. During that time Freddy had MRIs, heart scans, brain scans, and more lumbar punches. The doctors found that Freddy had GBS sepsis and meningitis. Everyday waiting for the news doctors had, just broke our hearts every second. When Freddy was taken off the incubator and moved to the ward we had 3 weeks of antibiotics.
We were soo lucky we were in hospital by the time Freddy was becoming extremely unwell and he deteriorated extremely quickly in front of the doctors. The doctors and nurses were more than amazing. I am so thankful I trusted my mother's instinct at home and I was aware of the signs to look for in an unwell baby and go straight to hospital without hesitating.
Our baby boy went through so much and made a full recovery and he is strong, happy, and thriving now.
It has been a stressful year waiting to see if Freddy will make each milestone and he has. We are so lucky and grateful for everyday with him.
It’s so important that parents be aware of GBS and its dangers to their babies. It’s so important to have a GBS swab during pregnancy, even though I was negative I would still encourage mums to get tested, even a few times before giving birth. I don’t believe from my experience that mothers are educated enough on GBS. Seek advice and never second guess yourself. Trust your instincts and act fast.
It’s hard for me to talk about this but I feel so strongly about the awareness, I’ve never felt so much fear and heartache in my life seeing my baby unwell. Sending so much love and strength to all parents out there!
-Yasmin Frank
To spread GBS awareness, Yasmin Frank, "spoke to lots of medical professionals , shared my story with friends and people in my community. I want to do more it’s so important to raise awareness."
Freddy was born beautiful and healthy. Freddy is my second child and I kept saying to the midwife and my family I can’t believe how sleepy he is. However he seemed to be healthy and well. On day 7 of his life, he was screaming in pain. My midwife visited for a routine check and we thought it was wind pains as he only wanted to be held by me (his mum) and was screaming in pain. Then he went to sleep. I kept trying to wake him to feed but he wouldn’t wake. His last feed was at 5am.
It was 9am and I took his temp and he wouldn’t really wake. It was 38.8 so I immediately took him to the hospital. We got there at 9:15am and we were seen by the nurses and doctors straight away. He seemed ok. They were doing all the routine checks. They had to do a lumbar puncture and began giving antibiotics. Then while we were there Freddy began to deteriorate in front of the doctors. He wasn’t able to breathe and then all of a sudden they were setting up for resus. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart and mind could not connect to what was happening to my healthy baby boy.
We were at a local hospital and they said they were getting doctors and an ambulance from the biggest hospital in Australia to come and collect him. This hospital was 1 hour away. When the ambulance arrived the doctors came in and put a pic line in and incubated Freddy and we were rushed to the Brisbane Children's Hospital. Everything the doctors had said could maybe happen worse case scenario was happening right in front of our eyes. It was heart breakingly shocking, every second.
In Brisbane Children's ICU unit he was incubated for 5 days. During that time Freddy had MRIs, heart scans, brain scans, and more lumbar punches. The doctors found that Freddy had GBS sepsis and meningitis. Everyday waiting for the news doctors had, just broke our hearts every second. When Freddy was taken off the incubator and moved to the ward we had 3 weeks of antibiotics.
We were soo lucky we were in hospital by the time Freddy was becoming extremely unwell and he deteriorated extremely quickly in front of the doctors. The doctors and nurses were more than amazing. I am so thankful I trusted my mother's instinct at home and I was aware of the signs to look for in an unwell baby and go straight to hospital without hesitating.
Our baby boy went through so much and made a full recovery and he is strong, happy, and thriving now.
It has been a stressful year waiting to see if Freddy will make each milestone and he has. We are so lucky and grateful for everyday with him.
It’s so important that parents be aware of GBS and its dangers to their babies. It’s so important to have a GBS swab during pregnancy, even though I was negative I would still encourage mums to get tested, even a few times before giving birth. I don’t believe from my experience that mothers are educated enough on GBS. Seek advice and never second guess yourself. Trust your instincts and act fast.
It’s hard for me to talk about this but I feel so strongly about the awareness, I’ve never felt so much fear and heartache in my life seeing my baby unwell. Sending so much love and strength to all parents out there!
-Yasmin Frank
To spread GBS awareness, Yasmin Frank, "spoke to lots of medical professionals , shared my story with friends and people in my community. I want to do more it’s so important to raise awareness."
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.