Sepsis which nearly killed mum and baby could have been picked up by simple test costing just £15

A mum and her newborn baby nearly died at childbirth from a bacterial infection - despite there being a simple £15 test which could have saved them. Preya Vaja, 39, is now calling on the NHS to make available the swab test which detects Group B Strep as it is not currently offered to patients.

It follows her traumatic ordeal, which almost resulted in her and newborn baby Uma dying during a C-section at Leicester Royal Infirmary in 2021. The pair both ended up with sepsis caused by Group B Strep and Preya was later left suffering PTSD and post-natal depression.

The infection affects one in four women and kills one newborn every week in the UK - yet it can be easily identified by a swab test which costs just £15. Preya said she is angry the routine test is not available despite the number of baby deaths and those left with serious disabilities because of it.

She has since campaigned for more awareness and two weeks ago ran the London Marathon to raise funds for the charity Group B Strep Support. Mum-of-two Preya, from Leicester, said: "When I heard what I went through was preventable through a simple test, that was quite hard to hear.

"The physical and mental trauma we went through could have been avoided. It was really serious. It nearly resulted in mine and Uma’s death. The family lives with that collective trauma with me.

“I found out a lot about Group B Strep and did a lot of campaigning. Women can get tested in the latter stage of the pregnancies. But the NHS doesn't offer this testing. In my case it would have been vital. It only costs £15.

"It would cost me £30 privately but I had never heard about it and I was a second-time mum. If I’d been given the information about it, I could've taken the steps.

"If you are positive you’ll have it on your records that you need antibiotics. It gives you that reassurance. We know that Group B Strep is a leading cause, one baby dies a week. I’m fortunate but so many others are not."

Preya was taken into hospital after her waters broke at 34 weeks and was told she would be induced if she didn't start her labour naturally within 24 hours She added: "We were still in a global pandemic so the country was in lockdown, it was a high-risk pregnancy.

"I was feeling quite mentally drained, I didn't need to have a horrific birth to top that off. I had a premature rupture of the membrane. Because it was a high-risk pregnancy they kept me in.

"They said if labour doesn’t start naturally, they would induce me. My waters were broken for 24 hours. Fast forward 24 hours I was feeling really poorly. The midwife recognised something wasn’t right and I was rushed to theatre.

"I was in and out of consciousness, feeling unwell. I had contracted maternal sepsis. They needed to get Uma out quite quickly. I had Uma via c-section. In these circumstances you can’t have your partner there.

"I was unconscious. She needed to be resuscitated quite a few times. I felt robbed of the new birth experiences of a new mum. She went on to have quite invasive medical procedures like lumbar punctures.

“It was quite traumatic. I felt quite dissociated by it all. I’m absolutely grateful to all the doctors and nurses as we’re talking minutes here in which they had to act. The days that followed were quite horrible. My husband wasn’t allowed to join us. My mental health wasn’t at a great place.

"I went on for the next 18 months having quite awful mental health challenges. I struggled to bond with her and went on to have severe depression and anxiety. You don’t really make a full recovery from something like this."

Holland and Barrett worker Preya now campaigns with numerous charities in a bid to educate other parents. Preya, who lives with her husband Birju, 40 and her daughters Uma, now three and Amba, five, has so far raised over £3,500 for good causes.

She added “Last weekend was my first marathon. It was brilliant, I absolutely loved it. I wasn’t a runner this time last year, I couldn’t run three miles. Knowing my cause, that’s what pushed me on. We know it’s a minority, and I don’t want to scaremonger, but it does happen and we just want to raise awareness to normalise this.

“Uma is now a cheeky, thriving three-year-old and she’s loving life. A lot of our time is about not taking life for granted as you can't after something like that. It could have been a much different story if we hadn’t survived."

An NHS England spokesperson said: "Routine testing is not currently recommended and tests are rarely done on the NHS. This is because group B strep is very common and testing cannot predict whether a baby will get an infection. You can pay for a test privately."