A MUM who cradled her baby daughter as she died insists a routine test could have saved her.
Doctors allegedly told Kelly Kirk her little girl would still be alive if she had been tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea earlier in her pregnancy.
She is now calling for all mums-to-be to be screened for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Kelly, from Leeds, told YorkshireLive: “The thought of this happening to someone else absolutely destroys me.
“It makes me sick to my stomach because one small test, which anyone can have, would have saved my baby.”
Full STI checks are currently only offered to pregnant women aged 25 and under and those considered at risk – for example, they have had new or multiple sexual partners.
But Kelly was 33 and married when she found she was expecting so wasn’t automatically eligible.
On September 13, 2023, at 18 weeks, she was admitted to hospital after experiencing pain and spot bleeding.
Tests revealed she had leukocytes (white blood cells) in her urine – which led medics to believe that she had thrush– a common fungal infection.
“The doctor touched my stomach to examine me but the pain was so bad it took my breath away and I started crying,” Kelly said.
“Thrush wasn’t unusual for me, but obviously the pain and bleeding weren’t normal symptoms.
“I’d never experienced pain like that – the only pain I could compare it to was contractions from having my two daughters.”
The mum-of-three insisted she needed further investigations, and an ultrasound was carried out.
Doctors reportedly told Kelly her pain might be due to a tilted pelvis, so she was sent home with painkillers and a thrush treatment plan.
But as soon as she returned home, the bleeding started again. She called the hospital and was told it was “probably just from the speculum during examination”.
As the days passed, the bleeding worsened and Kelly’s pain became so intense she “couldn’t even stand up”.
Further tests at the hospital concluded she “definitely” had a urinary tract infection (UTI) and was prescribed antibiotics, it is said.
But the same thing happened again when she returned home – the bleeding became unbearable, leaving Kelly in “floods of tears”.
Doctors feared she might be going into labour so told her to rush back to the hospital, where it was confirmed her cervix was opening.
It makes me sick to my stomach because one small test, which anyone can have, would have saved my baby.
Kelly Kirk
“I was taken in a wheelchair to a private delivery room, which is what I now know to be where premature and stillbirths happen,” Kelly said.
A consultant allegedly explained that if they were to perform a cervical stitch, the infection would become “trapped” and she could die.
The only option, she was told, was to give birth, so Harper Rose Kirk was born on September 14 at 18 weeks and three days.
“She was alive – she was breathing and moving,” Kelly said.
“I was left in the room with her for 30 minutes before she passed away because the doctors said they were unable to assist her as she was born before 24 weeks.
“It was horrendous. I kept asking the midwives, ‘Why can’t you help her?’ and they just kept telling me they’re not allowed.
“My baby was taking her first breaths but also her last, and there was nothing that I could do.”
Babies born before full term (37 weeks) are vulnerable to problems associated with being premature, according to the NHS.
The earlier in pregnancy they are born, the more vulnerable they are.
Babies born before 24 weeks have lungs and other vital organs that are not developed enough for them to live outside the womb, the health service says.
Kelly spent the next 48 hours on the ward while doctors treated her infection before being discharged.
Two days later, she allegedly received a call to say her swabs had come back positive for chlamydia and gonorrhoea.
“Initially I didn’t understand,” she said. “I was 33 and married – I had a husband and this was my third baby.”
It is believed the untreated STIs resulted in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which affects around one in 50 sexually active women in the UK every year.
It had seemingly caused her cervix to contract and Harper to be delivered early, Kelly, who then had to receive further treatment to ensure she suffered no long-term complications, said.
In December 2023, she had a debrief appointment with her consultant.
“I asked him if Harper would still be here if I’d received a full STI screening at my eight-week appointment, and he sad, ‘Yes, they would have been able to treat the infections and she would still be with us’,” Kelly, who has since had the all-clear, said.
She has launched a government petition, which needs 10,000 signatures before it receives a response and 100,000 for it to be debated in Parliament, for funding to be provided for STI screening at the beginning of all pregnancies.
“I’ve spent the past four months grieving for my daughter, but I also couldn’t stop thinking about what I could do to help other women,” Kelly, who has shared her journey on Instagram and TikTok, said.
“It could save someone from the pain I have to go through every single day.”
Under current National Screening Committee guidelines, women are routinely tested for HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis as early as possible in pregnancy – ideally by 10 weeks.
Full STI screening, which includes swabs for chlamydia and gonorrhoea, is only automatically offered to those under 25 or with self-reported risk factors.
This includes sex workers, those with concurrent partners and people with infected partners. Others must request it.
“A national screening programme is not recommended for chlamydia in pregnancy,” the government says.
“This is because there is not enough evidence to show that having chlamydia during pregnancy will have a negative outcome on the pregnancy, that screening during pregnancy will benefit the pregnancy or the baby, and the effect of using antibiotics to treat chlamydia during pregnancy.”
A spokesperson for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We offer our sincere condolences to Kelly and her family at such a difficult time.
“At Leeds Teaching Hospitals, we offer all pregnant women screening in line with recommendations set out by the National Screening Committee and other organisations such as The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).
“Many STIs do not have obvious symptoms and if left untreated, some STIs can cause complications in pregnancy.
“Our midwives and consultants work closely with colleagues in sexual health services to ensure that correct and timely treatment is provided once we become aware of an STI in pregnancy.”
The dangers of STIs during pregnancy
STIs can affect your baby’s death, both during pregnancy and after they have been born, the NHS warns.
But many often have no symptoms, so it can be difficult to know if you have one.
If you believe you or your partner might have an STI, go for a check-up as soon as possible.
You can speak to your GP, midwife or visit a sexual health clinic.
Not doing so could mean you pass the infection on to your baby.
For chlamydia, this can mean your baby develops an eye infection (conjunctivitis) and lung infection (pneumonia).
It can also cause persistent pelvic pain and an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, when the fertilised egg implants itself outside the womb.
Untreated gonorrhoea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, miscarriage, premature labour and birth, and conjunctivitis in newborns.
If the baby is not then treated with antibiotics quickly, they can be at risk of permanent vision damage.
Source: NHS
If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, contact the charity Sands, which supports families after the death of a baby, on 0808 164 3332.