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LUCAS — USA
Born August 25, 2020 Early-onset Mother's GBS Status: Tested negative Gestational Age: 41 weeks Age harmed: 1 day old |
I was 41 weeks pregnant, and the day was finally here. My husband and I were going in to be induced at 6 am that morning. At around 8 am my water was broke and about 6 hours later, I had my beautiful baby boy in my arms. He was healthy and all the doctors said he was perfect. After 24 hours, we were sent home and we were so excited to bring Lucas to meet his big brother and start this new chapter. Little did we know, that night would be the most terrifying experience of our lives.
The evening that we brought Lucas home, I noticed that he was extra sleepy and I was having a hard time waking him up to eat. I thought it could just be him being a sleepy newborn (I remembered having to wake up my first son to eat too). That night, he started making a constant grunting noise, wouldn’t eat or sleep much at all, and about 4 times, he made a high pitched cry followed by body stiffening, scrunching up his face, and tiny spit bubbles would come out of his mouth. It only lasted a few seconds so we wasn’t sure what it was, but my husband and I both said it almost seemed like a seizure. I called my sister who is an ER nurse and described this to her and she confirmed my fears and said it sounds like he’s having seizures. We immediately rushed him to the ER and on our way there, he had another seizure.
Once we got to the ER, they examined him and everything seemed fine. They said he could have acid reflux and that’s what we thought were seizures. I asked about the grunting noise, and they said he’s probably just trying to figure out the world. I wanted them to be right, but deep down I knew they weren’t. After a little while of being in the ER, Lucas had another seizure. The nurse watched it and saw that it was, in fact, seizures that we had been seeing. After that, the doctors came in and did a spinal tap, put him on oxygen, and started him on antibiotics. He was rushed to Children’s Hospital where I was told he had GBS meningitis. How could this be? I had tested negative for this at 36 weeks pregnant.
Lucas was in the NICU on antibiotics for 21 days. Me or my husband stayed by his side every day and every night. We were blessed that he didn’t have any more seizures after getting to Children’s Hospital and that it didn’t cause him brain damage. He is now 6 weeks old, and we are so thankful to have him with us alive and healthy.
- Jasmine
Jasmine spreads GBS awareness through conversation and Facebook.
The evening that we brought Lucas home, I noticed that he was extra sleepy and I was having a hard time waking him up to eat. I thought it could just be him being a sleepy newborn (I remembered having to wake up my first son to eat too). That night, he started making a constant grunting noise, wouldn’t eat or sleep much at all, and about 4 times, he made a high pitched cry followed by body stiffening, scrunching up his face, and tiny spit bubbles would come out of his mouth. It only lasted a few seconds so we wasn’t sure what it was, but my husband and I both said it almost seemed like a seizure. I called my sister who is an ER nurse and described this to her and she confirmed my fears and said it sounds like he’s having seizures. We immediately rushed him to the ER and on our way there, he had another seizure.
Once we got to the ER, they examined him and everything seemed fine. They said he could have acid reflux and that’s what we thought were seizures. I asked about the grunting noise, and they said he’s probably just trying to figure out the world. I wanted them to be right, but deep down I knew they weren’t. After a little while of being in the ER, Lucas had another seizure. The nurse watched it and saw that it was, in fact, seizures that we had been seeing. After that, the doctors came in and did a spinal tap, put him on oxygen, and started him on antibiotics. He was rushed to Children’s Hospital where I was told he had GBS meningitis. How could this be? I had tested negative for this at 36 weeks pregnant.
Lucas was in the NICU on antibiotics for 21 days. Me or my husband stayed by his side every day and every night. We were blessed that he didn’t have any more seizures after getting to Children’s Hospital and that it didn’t cause him brain damage. He is now 6 weeks old, and we are so thankful to have him with us alive and healthy.
- Jasmine
Jasmine spreads GBS awareness through conversation and Facebook.
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.