LAKEN ROGER - USA
Born March 16, 2021

Late-onset

Mother's GBS Status: Tested Positive
Gestational Age: 37 weeks, 4 days
Age Harmed: 1.5 months old
I tested positive for GBS at 36 weeks pregnant. My son was born March 16th. I had my full course of antibiotics during labor! Everything was great until April 27th. Laken refused to eat! He kept his arms crossed over his chest at all times and had a constant moan with every breath along with a slight fever! Took him to his pediatrician. They didn’t find anything wrong, just told me things to lookout for to take him to the emergency room. He got better for 24 hours. Was eating again, no fever. Then again, on April 28, the moaning, not eating and even higher fever came back! We rushed him to the best pediatric emergency room in our area and they did a lumbar puncture along with a viral swab! He had 2 viruses along with group B strep meningitis. He spent 6 days in the Hospital, 3 of those days being in the PICU. He responded very very well to the antibiotics. His inflammatory levels continued to drop the way the infectious disease doctor wanted! They placed a PICC line in his head and we were able to take him home and administer the remainder of his antibiotics from the comfort of our home. Laken made a full recovery after the 14 days of antibiotics and is thriving at 4 months old now! Had we not have taken him to the hospital when we did it would have been VERY bad! Always trust your instinct and make yourself aware of GBS and its affects on your baby if it was to be transferred. I received my full course of antibiotics during labor and it still transferred.

-Jessica Pettit
How Jessica spreads GBS awareness: Wears GBS awareness shirts for their son and posts on social media making family and friends aware!
​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.