Hayden's story   — anonymous

My second son was born with Group B Strep. I had somewhat heard of the disease before he was born and was tested. I was induced three and a half weeks early. I only received one round of intravenous antibiotics, but it didn't matter. Hayden was sick from the start. He had trouble breathing at birth and was running a fever. His breathing got worse through the night so they transferred him to a NICU an hour and a half away. I have never been so terrified in my life. When they told me what he had and the fatality rate, I couldn't believe I didn't know more about this. Hayden was put on a ventilator and was septic. At 7lbs, 5oz he was the biggest baby in the unit, but not nearly the strongest. Hayden spent 5 days on a vent and 2 weeks in the hospital. He is one of the lucky ones. He had such good care and has no ill effects of his ordeal, but not all GBS stories end so happily .