My Baby Was Born Early With an STI & Died in My Arms 30 Minutes Later
Oscar Wong/Getty ImagesPregnancy is filled with routine checkups and an increased focus on health. From taking prenatal vitamins to eating right, attending OB-GYN appointments, having ultrasounds, and undergoing blood testing and other routine screenings. All that can feel like a lot. One UK mom, however, is pushing for STI screenings to become a required part of the process after she lost her baby at 18 weeks.
Kelly Redhead, 33, learned she was pregnant with baby No. 3 in June 2023. At 18 weeks along, she started experiencing sharp pains and eventually bleeding, prompting several hospital visits. Sadly, she lost her baby girl shortly after she went into pre-term labor, all because she unknowingly had multiple sexually transmitted infections, or STIs, and did not receive treatment early in her pregnancy.
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The expectant mom experienced sharp pain 18 weeks into her pregnancy.
Redhead started experiencing sharp pains when she was 18 weeks pregnant but brushed it off as cramps, the New York Post reported. After a few days, she opted to go to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a yeast infection. The expectant mom's pain worsened when she was discharged and sent home, and she experienced bleeding and vomiting.
She returned to the hospital several times.
Redhead called her doctor and returned to the hospital, both times being reassured to continue taking her prescribed medication. She finally reached a breaking point, however, and headed back to hospital.
“I was debating taking an ambulance because I was so scared. I could barely stand up," she told SWNS, per the Post. "When I got there, a doctor came to say they needed to examine me to see if I was in labor."
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She delivered her baby girl, who lived for just 30 minutes.
Shortly after she arrived at the hospital, doctors checked her cervix and determined she was in labor. “I burst into tears, and I said my daughter can’t be born as she won’t survive,” she recalled.
On September 14, 2023, her daughter — whom she named Harper-Rose — was born at 18 weeks, 3 days gestation, weighing only .4 pounds.
“I held my daughter until she died,” Redhead said. “It was horrific. It is the worst experience of my life, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Later, she learned she had two STIs.
A few days after Redhead's daughter's birth and tragic death, a doctor called to relay test results from swabs taken when she checked into the hospital. They tested positive for gonorrhea and chlamydia, which resulted in pelvic inflammatory disease.
“I dropped to the floor and just sobbed,” she said. “If I was tested early on in my pregnancy my daughter would still be alive today.”
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She started a petition to make STI testing early in pregnancy a requirement.
In the wake of her baby's death, Redhead started an online petition for STI screenings to be offered to all women in the beginning of pregnancy. The bereaved mom said she wasn't advised for screening because she was older than 25 and married.
“I want STI screening to be offered as part of routine testing at the beginning of a pregnancy,” she shared in the petition. “If I had been checked at the start of my pregnancy and the STIs were found, my daughter may still be with me today.”
