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LOUIE - USA
Born October 13, 2018 Late-onset Mother's GBS Status: Negative Gestational Age: Full term Age Harmed: 11 days old |
I was tested for GBS at 35 weeks pregnant. It was negative, so I received no antibiotics. I was induced at 40 + 3 due to size concerns for baby. Exactly 5 weeks after the GBS swab was completed. I was told the test “expires” at 5 weeks.
After a lengthy induction, I pushed for about 40 minutes and our beautiful, 10lb 2oz, 23-inch-long baby boy was here. We stayed in the hospital for the next two days and then were released home.
The day we came home from the hospital, our dog (a 60 pound husky) jumped into baby's crib when I had just turned my back. I still do not know if the dog ever touched the baby as she jumped into the opposite side of the crib. Over the next several days, I noticed baby was having pain in his left hip. He refused to straighten it without extreme discomfort. Originally, I had thought nothing of the dog but when baby started acting like he was in pain, I wondered if the dog had done it.
In the meantime, we were having issues nursing so we returned to the pediatrician. I told her about the dog, and she decided it was prudent to order an x-ray to ensure there was no fracture. At the x-ray, we were blown away to see the femur appeared entirely dislocated from the hip socket. Guilt coursed through me. “How could I have let this happen to my baby?” “I am a terrible mother.” “I never should have let the dog in the room.”
We had an ultrasound that very day, which also showed a dislocation, but the Radiologist noted there was something in the hip socket. He believed it to be a tendon of some sort because we still believed we were dealing with a trauma injury. The next 48 hours are a blur. I did not stop crying. I spoke with a local surgeon who had “never seen anything like it.” So, he referred us to the nearest University.
The evening before our appointment, I noticed baby was breathing incredibly rapidly. Nearly 75 breaths per minute. I called the on-call doctor associated with our local hospital and she indicated that it wasn’t likely anything serious. We met with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon the next day, 11 days after our son’s birth. Upon meeting us, he immediately asked if anyone had spoken with us about illness or infection. They hadn’t. He advised that we were going to run blood work, and if the levels came back elevated, our son would undergo emergency surgery. Today. Just as soon as they could get an OR prepped. The levels came back elevated. Specifically, we tracked the CRP which was over 15x elevated. The surgeon performed the surgery and found indeed there was an infectious pus pocket in the hip socket that was pushing the femur out of place. Initially, the diagnosis was a "septic hip."
After surgery, the Infectious Disease team at the University began preparing cultures. Group B Strep was confirmed. We were admitted for a 21 day stay of IV antibiotics through a Baby PICC in our son’s head. For 21 days, we could never be more than 3 feet from the machine administering the medication and fluid. I felt so much guilt, so much shame. “Why didn’t I ask for another test since it was ‘expiring’?” “Why didn’t I have a c-section.”
Although our son’s illness was diagnosed as a Late Onset Group B Strep Infection at 11 days, he began feeling pain before he was one week old. I will never know where he picked up the infection, but the doctors tell me it likely was a result of the delivery process. Following surgery, our son needed to wear a Pavlik harness for several weeks to ensure that the hip socket formed properly around the femur. I wish I had had more information. I wish I had known GBS infection could present itself as an infection in the hip. I wish, I wish, I wish.
Fortunately, today our son is a happy, healthy 4-month-old baby boy but the story could have been much different. Prior to ordering the x-ray, I was planning to have our son adjusted because I thought maybe his hips were tight because he was so long. I had never known GBS could present itself in this way, and the doctor told us we caught the infection quite early so we will likely have no long-term effects to the hip. However, he also used the term “catastrophic” if it goes untreated. I am so grateful for the medical care we received, but I still wish we could have avoided the illness all together.
-Shannon Powers
After a lengthy induction, I pushed for about 40 minutes and our beautiful, 10lb 2oz, 23-inch-long baby boy was here. We stayed in the hospital for the next two days and then were released home.
The day we came home from the hospital, our dog (a 60 pound husky) jumped into baby's crib when I had just turned my back. I still do not know if the dog ever touched the baby as she jumped into the opposite side of the crib. Over the next several days, I noticed baby was having pain in his left hip. He refused to straighten it without extreme discomfort. Originally, I had thought nothing of the dog but when baby started acting like he was in pain, I wondered if the dog had done it.
In the meantime, we were having issues nursing so we returned to the pediatrician. I told her about the dog, and she decided it was prudent to order an x-ray to ensure there was no fracture. At the x-ray, we were blown away to see the femur appeared entirely dislocated from the hip socket. Guilt coursed through me. “How could I have let this happen to my baby?” “I am a terrible mother.” “I never should have let the dog in the room.”
We had an ultrasound that very day, which also showed a dislocation, but the Radiologist noted there was something in the hip socket. He believed it to be a tendon of some sort because we still believed we were dealing with a trauma injury. The next 48 hours are a blur. I did not stop crying. I spoke with a local surgeon who had “never seen anything like it.” So, he referred us to the nearest University.
The evening before our appointment, I noticed baby was breathing incredibly rapidly. Nearly 75 breaths per minute. I called the on-call doctor associated with our local hospital and she indicated that it wasn’t likely anything serious. We met with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon the next day, 11 days after our son’s birth. Upon meeting us, he immediately asked if anyone had spoken with us about illness or infection. They hadn’t. He advised that we were going to run blood work, and if the levels came back elevated, our son would undergo emergency surgery. Today. Just as soon as they could get an OR prepped. The levels came back elevated. Specifically, we tracked the CRP which was over 15x elevated. The surgeon performed the surgery and found indeed there was an infectious pus pocket in the hip socket that was pushing the femur out of place. Initially, the diagnosis was a "septic hip."
After surgery, the Infectious Disease team at the University began preparing cultures. Group B Strep was confirmed. We were admitted for a 21 day stay of IV antibiotics through a Baby PICC in our son’s head. For 21 days, we could never be more than 3 feet from the machine administering the medication and fluid. I felt so much guilt, so much shame. “Why didn’t I ask for another test since it was ‘expiring’?” “Why didn’t I have a c-section.”
Although our son’s illness was diagnosed as a Late Onset Group B Strep Infection at 11 days, he began feeling pain before he was one week old. I will never know where he picked up the infection, but the doctors tell me it likely was a result of the delivery process. Following surgery, our son needed to wear a Pavlik harness for several weeks to ensure that the hip socket formed properly around the femur. I wish I had had more information. I wish I had known GBS infection could present itself as an infection in the hip. I wish, I wish, I wish.
Fortunately, today our son is a happy, healthy 4-month-old baby boy but the story could have been much different. Prior to ordering the x-ray, I was planning to have our son adjusted because I thought maybe his hips were tight because he was so long. I had never known GBS could present itself in this way, and the doctor told us we caught the infection quite early so we will likely have no long-term effects to the hip. However, he also used the term “catastrophic” if it goes untreated. I am so grateful for the medical care we received, but I still wish we could have avoided the illness all together.
-Shannon Powers
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.