The life of a Frome baby has been saved thanks to guidance from a national infant charity.
Frome couple Matt and Laura Bradbury-Stewart acted quickly after Laura recognised the signs and symptoms of an infection in their baby, Sam, from an educational video on The Lullaby Trust’s social media.
“We had just been home for a few days and Sam was sleepy but feeding fine,” explained Laura. “On the third day he wouldn’t wake up or take any milk. I was looking through Instagram and saw on The Lullaby Trust’s page a video of a woman sharing her experience of her baby dying from an infection for the charity’s Infection Prevention Week.
“She said her baby, Joshua, had a low temperature and so Matt and I decided to check Sam’s temperature. When we discovered it was low, we instantly called the midwife who contacted the hospital who told us to come straight in. En route we couldn’t tell if Sam was breathing so called an ambulance who arrived and rushed him into infant resuscitation where they confirmed he was having breathing apnoeas (temporary pauses to breathing). From there he was warmed, given antibiotics, put on equipment to help his breathing and taken to neonatal intensive care. Sam went straight into an incubator where he spent a week in intensive care undergoing tests to try and figure out what was had caused his apnoeas.”
The Lullaby Trust offers trusted advice for parents and carers on safer sleep, reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and baby safety. This includes practical resources on spotting illness and infection in babies and when to seek medical help.
From 19th to 25th October, the Trust has been marking Infection Prevention Week aiming to give parents and carers the confidence to seek support, share tips on preventing the spread of infections and provide clear guidance on spotting when a baby needs urgent medical attention.
Laura said, “If it wasn’t for the awareness about infection from The Lullaby Trust, I don’t think I’d have taken his temperature as you always worry about babies having high temperature, so I didn’t even think about it being low. We both wonder if I hadn’t seen that Instagram post and Joshua’s story, whether Sam would be with us now.
“If sharing our experience can save another baby, that means everything. Our message to other parents this Infection Prevention Week, is it’s always better to get your baby checked than to wait as the consequences of not are too much. Don’t worry about bothering people. If you’re worried, it’s for a reason and any health professional would rather you call than sit at home worried.”
For more information about Infection Protection Week, visit lullabytrust.org.uk/about-us/our-campaigns/infection-prevention-week
