Helston parents’ plea after losing baby Ezrah at 19 days old

Ezrah had fed well all day and right through the night. So when he wouldn’t take much the next morning, his mum didn’t panic. She thought it was a cold, maybe Covid. By that evening he was being rushed into resuscitation. He was 19 days old when he died.

Sarah Doolin and Craig Pollard, from Helston, lost their son to late onset Group B Strep, a bacterial disease. Now they are backing The Lullaby Trust‘s Infection Prevention Week, which runs this week from Monday 19 October to Sunday 25 October, to help other families spot the signs sooner.

📷Ezrah and Sarah at birth

The signs Sarah didn’t put together

Sarah, a secondary school English teacher, did not recognise how serious Ezrah’s symptoms were at the time.

“On the day he became unwell I thought he had a cold or even Covid as he was feeding less well, had an unusually high-pitched cry and later developed breathing sounds. I now know these are key signs of infection,” she said.

“I was looking at the signs and symptoms in isolation as Ezrah had fed really well the day and night before he became unwell, so when he wouldn’t feed well in the morning, I wasn’t alarmed. I really felt I was overreacting and being dramatic.”

Later that evening Sarah took Ezrah’s temperature. It had risen, and the family called NHS 111. An ambulance was organised, but it took so long to arrive that Sarah and Craig decided to drive him to hospital themselves.

Ezrah was taken straight to resuscitation, where doctors found signs of sepsis. He was transferred to a specialist children’s hospital, but the infection had caused widespread brain damage through meningitis. His parents were told it was unsurvivable.

The app she found too late

Sarah is sharing Ezrah’s story so other parents know what to look for, and where to turn.

“I only discovered The Lullaby Trust’s Baby Check app, which checks for signs of illness, only after Ezrah’s death. When I retrospectively used the app to assess his symptoms, it advised: ‘Go to hospital, call 999’. I wish I’d known it existed then,” she said.

“Knowledge is power. Being told more about infection upon discharge from hospital, or the midwife telling us about the Baby Check app during pregnancy, could’ve saved Ezrah’s life.”

The Baby Check app is free on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

📷Ezrah

Your baby, your boundaries

This year’s campaign theme is “your baby, your boundaries”. The charity’s message is that wanting to protect a baby from infection, especially in the first few weeks of life when babies are most vulnerable, is never something parents and carers need to justify. It also wants families to learn the signs of infection and feel confident seeking help when they are worried about their baby’s health.

When their daughter Isabelle was born three years ago, Sarah and Craig took extra precautions. They limited visitors, insisted on thorough hand washing and cut down on unnecessary handling.

“If you really want to show your love and support to the parents then I would suggest making freezer meals or running errands. The wellbeing of the baby must be the first priority,” Sarah said.

“Parents should be encouraged to share what they are comfortable with and the priority should be the baby’s wellbeing rather than the feeling of pressure to hand them around to please others.”

Kissed without asking

New research released for the week shows how hard many parents find it to speak up. The nationwide poll, carried out by Censuswide for the charity among 1,001 UK parents and carers of babies aged 12 months or younger, found:

• 57% have had a family member kiss their baby without asking.
• 57% have asked a stranger not to kiss their baby.
• 44% have felt uncomfortable about a stranger touching their baby but have not spoken up.
• 46% feel uncomfortable asking friends and family to wash their hands before touching or holding their baby.
• 41% have felt uncomfortable about a friend or family member touching their baby but have not spoken up.

How to set boundaries around a new baby

The Lullaby Trust has launched a new talking to visitors page, with practical advice and suggested phrases for setting boundaries kindly and confidently, whether with loved ones or strangers. Its tips include:

• Ask visitors to wash their hands before touching or holding your baby.
• Ask visitors not to kiss your newborn. Only kiss a new baby if you’re their parent or main carer.
• Ask anyone who is ill, or has been ill recently, to stay away until they are fully recovered. That includes active cold sores, as well as diarrhoea and vomiting illnesses.

Those boundaries apply wherever you are, the charity says. If a stranger reaches out to touch or kiss a baby while out and about, parents have every right to step in and say no. And for anyone due to visit a new baby, it’s natural to want a cuddle, but always ask the parent or carer what’s okay first.

“You are not being rude or overprotective”

Jenny Ward, chief executive of The Lullaby Trust, said: “What happened to Sarah and Craig is truly tragic but unfortunately, as our poll results show, people are not aware of the risk that infections can carry for babies. And parents and carers can feel awkward, embarrassed or even guilty about asking someone not to kiss their baby, wash their hands or keep their distance when they’re unwell. But protecting your baby from infection is never something you need to justify.”

“Some families might find it difficult setting boundaries with grandparents for example, who may have been given different advice when they had their babies. But you are not being rude or overprotective. You are doing what you can to protect your baby and these conversations can make a big difference.”

The charity gives advice on safer sleep, reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), baby safety and spotting illness, and supports families whose baby or young child has died suddenly. It says that since 1991 it has helped save the lives of more than 31,000 babies and cut rates of SIDS by 80%.

📷Sarah, Ezrah and Craig