Hayley Keane only ever had one hug with her baby.
The 26-year-old held Simon for the first and last time after he died from meningitis.
She believes the baby, who died at just three days old last December, could have been saved following a routine screening for the Group B Streptococcus.
Hayley, from Hartlepool, is now campaigning for the NHS to introduce the routine screenings.
She said: ‘My first cuddle was my last cuddle with him. They took him away from me as soon as he was born.
‘I didn’t see him for six hours. I never saw his eyes open, never heard him cry. I was robbed of his cry, his voice and his first step.
‘At three days old they took him off life support and I held him for the first time. I held him so tight – the rush of love set my heart on fire.’
Hayley gave birth by C-section but after ten hours Simon suffered seizures and was cared for in an incubator.
Despite the best efforts of medics, he could not be saved. She hopes her story will raise awareness of Group B Streptococcus, which is a bacteria present in many people, often with no ill effects.
Hayley has added her voice to growing calls for routine screening of the bacterium late in pregnancy when, if found, can be tackled with antibiotics.
She said: ‘I want his life to make a difference. He died so I want his life to have served a purpose, to help other mothers.’
The UK National Screening Committee does not recommend screening for all pregnant women as tests cannot predict if mothers will have the infection by the time they go into labor.
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I feel so sorry for this mother, the baby and the whole family. It's absolutely disgusting that the NHS is still not testing.
