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killer viruses that no-one tells you about or takes notice about please read

14 replies

wendyblackpool · 24/09/2006 11:27

this is my daughters story that i wrote for her. please can anyone that reads this and have lost a baby or have one that is alive but have been affected by these virus's please contact me thanks.
hi my name is chloe my husband is baljinder and our beautiful baby is called harkeet.she was born on the 15th of august 2006,and saldly passed away on the 29th of august. my baby was due on the 8th of august,on the 2nd i had a little bit of bleeding so i went in to be checked out and they did a swab test.at that time i was quite sore down below and told the midwives so, but they didnt say anything.on the 14th i was given a sweep of the membranes as i had gone over my dates,and the next day my waters broke at about 10.30 in the morning, i rang my mum who came and picked me up and we went to her house as we'd planned to try and spend as much time at home before going to the hospital.my mum rang the hospital about 12.30 and advised them that my waters had broken and they said to potter about at home and have a bath and to come in when we were ready.we went to hospital at 3pm and it was confirmed that i was in labour but they said my waters hadnt broken. at the time i also metioned that i was very sore and a docter said it was just an imflamed spot. at about 5 pm i was told i could go home if i wanted and come back later or i could go to a ward.we decided to go home.the midwife then went to fill in some details on my hospital records and then told us to our great surprise that i had strep b.which had been found when i had the swab taken on the 2nd of august (almost 2 weeks before).
we new what problems could come from this as my friend had this when she was pregnant,we also new that antibiotics had to be given by drip immeadiatly that labour starts(over 7 hours had already passed).the midwife put a drip on and i was left to do my labour.2 hours later my baby was born (very fast for a first baby).as far as we know the baby was checked and declared fit to go home the next evening.we was not given any information about symptoms to watch out for.in the next few days my baby developed a cough which i told the midwife about, and her reply was babys cant catch a cold or coughs at this age they are immune! over the next few days i told the midwife but she still just kept reasuring us that things were fine. then on the 25th she came and said my baby must have caught a cold and for me to make an appointment with the docter.they said they couldnt see her till 5 in the afternoon by which time my baby was on life support.they at first didnt think she'd make it through the journey to alder hey hospital but she did, but after another 4 days fighting for her life she slipped away.
we were convinced that what had taken our baby was strep b, but to add our sadness it turned out to be another silent killer that we didnt know lurks in our body a cold sore virus called herpes simplex. it can be spread all over the body simply by kissing someone,and sadly no body picked up on it but the symptoms are the same for strep b which the midwife should have been watching for. i want to make people aware of how things live in our bodys without us being aware! sadly its too late for our baby and it is a very rare thing for a baby to die from this but we have since found out that the soreness i had was a break out of cold sores in my priverts that killed our baby. this is not something that is transmitted sexualy its as simple i said earlier a cold sore virus that 90% of people have without even knowing.and if our baby had been treated earlier when i said she was il and the midwife would have listened to me, our baby would still be alive today!

Our feelings about this are very raw and hopefully we will go on to have more children soon!
but nobody can take away our memories of the time we laughed at our babys funny expressions,and the little sound she made when she cried.she sounded just like a baby lamb,we have these memories to keep us going!and to keep her memory alive forever!

OP posts:
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nogoes · 24/09/2006 11:29

That is very sad Chloe. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Lots of love.

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aitch71 · 24/09/2006 11:58

Oh Chloe, how very tragic for you all. Thank you for taking the time to post such valuable information here to benefit all of us. It is a wonderful way of keeping her lovely memory alive, and Harkeet's little baby lamb noises sound gorgeous,
kindest regards,
Aitch

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Mum2FunkyDude · 24/09/2006 12:20

My deepest sympathy for your loss.

I have a few questions;

Is it a routine test? I was not tested for strep B during my pregnancy? Is it something you should ask for then?

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WestCountryLass · 24/09/2006 21:34

I am so sorry for the loss of yourn daughter, I wish you peace and much strength as you grieve for your baby

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NotSoUselessMum · 24/09/2006 22:03

I am so sorry WB. I'm in tears. I don't know what to say. Thanks for sharing and my thoughts are with you.

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NotSoUselessMum · 24/09/2006 22:05

I've got question too but cannot think at the moment. will ask later if you don't mind.

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Nemo1977 · 24/09/2006 22:08

what a horrible thing for you to go through my thoughts and prayers are with you, your husband and your sadly lost little girl

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izzybiz · 25/09/2006 09:19

So, so sorry for your loss.

Thankyou for sharing your story with us, I am a group B strep carrier too, and luckily my Dd was ok, i didnt realise that the herpes virus can kill too though.

I do now.

Keep coming back and talking about your daughter, its the best way to keep her memory
alive. So sorry again.xx

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dinosaur · 25/09/2006 09:33

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

mimi1uk · 25/09/2006 09:42

i am so sorry for ur loss! i lost a baby at 37 weeks , and i can only imagine how u must be feeling, i am always around if u wanna talk, etc, sending u lots of love and hugs, [email protected]

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fairyjay · 25/09/2006 10:04

So sorry for the loss of Harkeet.

When my dd was a very small baby, I had a huge cold sore, and my GP warned me not to kiss the baby and to be extra careful, as the virus can do a lot of damage.

Now I see why .

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RachelRose · 27/09/2006 13:39

So so sorry for the loss of Harkeet - what a lovely name for your wonderful daughter. Thank you for sharing the information.

I lost my son at 21 weeks pg last year and in all the checks and test afterwards, they found I was a strep B carrier (although this was not the cause of DS2's death). I also get coldsores so I'll be very cautious now after seeing this post.

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ediemay · 27/09/2006 13:45

I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for being so kind and sharing all of this in her memory.

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dreamydowler · 27/09/2006 16:27

Im soo so devestated for your sad loss . My dd was born on 13th sept this year at Countess of Chester hospital. I too am a group B strep carrier I found out after a swab in my last pregnancy 3 years ago as I thought my waters had broken. I was given intravenous antibiotics then and also this labour too. My dd was given 4 hourly obs for 48 hours in hospital before I was allowed to bring her home. Both my midwife and my gp told me to be very vigillant over the next few months and not to be blase about the fact that she was passed as ok in hospital. I was very very unaware about the added risk of cold sores which my dp has one of this morning I cannot thank you enough for warning us all of the dangers and think I will ask someone who knows what they are doing to do a link to this thread in each of the antenatal groups. Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you always xx

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