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| BABY COLE |
A MOTHER whose baby son died just 15 hours after being born has joined a campaign to offer all pregnant women a simple test that could have saved his life.
Gemma Asling-Carthy, 26, from Ramsey St Mary's gave birth to her third son, Cole, on October 9 and he died the following day, after his life support machine was turned off.
His funeral was at the Thomas A Beckett Church in Ramsey last week.
Cole died of a Streptococcus B infection the most common infection among new born babies - but few pregnant women even know about it.
Mrs Ashling-Carthy said: "Women should know about this condition and ask to be tested. It would cost £10 per woman for mothers to be tested on the NHS or £32 to have it done privately. If I had known, I would have paid that £32 over and over again.
"If the infection had been diagnosed, I would have been put on an antibiotic drip which might have prevented the condition affecting the baby. I have been told that I will be tested if I have another baby."
Cole, who was born weighing 81bs 13oz, caught the infection from his mother's birth canal as he was being born. The condition was diagnosed only after the baby died.
Strep B is the most common cause of infections in newborns, according to the UK National Screening Committee, which advises the Department of Health. However it is not tested for in the UK - though women are tested in several European countries, Australia, Canada and America. The test is a vaginal and rectal swab it is not as invasive as a blood test.
The NHS argument against testing is that the condition comes and goes. However other countries test between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Jane Plumb, founder of the Strep B Campaign told The Hunts Post: "The test is a good predictor for the next five weeks so 35 weeks is a good time to test because it carries over to the labour and makes it unlikely that the baby will be born before the test.
"Mothers need to ask for an enriched culture medium test (ECMT). This should be part of the antenatal process."
The infection affects some 700 babies a year, some 75 die and 40 of the survivors have long-term damage. The condition can affect babies up to three months old.
Mrs Asling-Carthy and her husband Rob, 26, a recovery driver, have become supporters of the campaign.
She said: "We want to make people aware of this condition. I had had two babies and I wasn't aware of it. Strep B it is more common than spina bifida and as common as Down's Syndrome and both of those are tested for."
Cole's birth was planned as a home birth because there had been no complications with the couple's first two children, Hayden, seven and Preston, three. In the event, Cole was born in an ambulance being rushed to hospital. He was taken to the special care baby unit at Hinchingbrooke where he died. A spokesman from the Department of Health said: "We fully appreciate the distress caused to families whose newborn babies suffer from Group B Streptococcus.
"However, the advice of the UK National Screening Committee, which is consistent with that of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is that screening for Group B Streptococcus carriage in pregnancy is not recommended. There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits to be gained from screening all pregnant women and treating those carrying the organism with intravenous antibiotics during labour would outweigh the harms.
"The UK National Screening Committee last reviewed the policy in March 2009 and, following a broad consultation, concluded that no new evidence had emerged which would support a change in policy."
INFORMATION: Contact the Strep B Campaign on 01444 416176. See: www.gbss.org.uk
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