A mum tragically lost her baby boy on the day of her baby shower after contracting a rare infection. Megan Broomfield woke up from having an emergency c-section under general anaesthetic to find that her son Luca was stillborn.
The 25-year-old and her partner Lewis Race, 26, were told he had died from a rare infection called Listeriosis. It is usually caused by eating food contaminated with listeria bacteria. Megan, who has a weakened immune system due to medication she takes for ulcerative colitis, said she had never heard of the infection before or been warned about the signs.
The first-time mum, from Bishop Auckland, is sharing her story to make other pregnant women aware of the infection. She told ChronicleLive: “I had so much planned and I pictured my life with him. To go from that to nothing was really difficult. When I picked him up I was expecting a cry. I was touching him and I was trying to look for the heartbeat that clearly wasn’t there.
“The baby shower was due to start at 1pm and I had him at 12.44. When I came home, it was upsetting to see the baby shower presents and the empty nursery. It was a devastating time but I had Lewis with me giving me the reassurance that we did everything we could. It was really heartbreaking because if he didn’t have that infection he would have survived.
“I want to make more women aware of it. I know that if I had known about this infection things could have been a little bit different.”
Megan Broomfield, 25, woke up from having an emergency C-section under general anaesthetic to find that her son Luca was stillborn after contracting Listeriosis(Image: Family)
Luca’s nursery(Image: Chronicle Live)
Megan’s baby shower cake(Image: Chronicle Live)
Megan said that before falling pregnant with Luca she was told she might have difficulty trying to conceive due to her health condition. She she they were thrilled to discover that she was pregnant and expecting a baby boy on April 20.
On Friday, February 13, Megan developed a fever which she believed was a minor illness. Two days later, on February 15, she was due to celebrate her pregnancy with family and friends at her baby shower.
However Megan, who was 31 weeks pregnant, decided to visit the maternity assessment unit at the University Hospital of North Durham after experiencing spotting and reduced movements. She said Luca’s heartbeat appeared to be fine at first and she thought she’d still make it to her baby shower.
However, concerns were then raised about Luca’s heartbeat and she was rushed into theatre. She was placed under general anaesthetic and Lewis, who is from Shildon, County Durham, had to wait outside.
When she woke up, she was told that medics had carried out CPR on her little boy, who weighed 4lb 11oz, for 33 minutes but that he didn’t make it. Megan, who works as a care practitioner, said: “As soon as I woke up Luca was in the room with me and the doctor. I asked how he was and I was told ‘Unfortunately he’s not survived. We have tried CPR and unfortunately we couldn’t get him back’.
“It was heartbreaking to hear it all. I went from thinking everything was fine to him no longer being here. It was quite a big thing to take in. It wasn’t a nice situation to be in.”
Megan and Lewis, who is a factory worker, were then told Luca has Listeriosis. Megan said: “The doctors came in and said Luca had Listeriosis, a rare infection – basically a form of food poisoning. They said I could have been in contact with the bacteria between three and 30 days earlier so they aren’t able to pinpoint what food had caused it. It’s not a very nice situation and I blame myself everyday for the foods that I have ate but at the same time I didn’t know this information.
“I want people to know about it and to hopefully prevent any fatalities from happening again.”
Luca’s scan photo(Image: Chronicle Live)
Megan Broomfield and Lewis Race(Image: Chronicle Live)
The couple were given a bereavement suite at the hospital in Durham. They were supported by the charity 4Louis who provided a cuddle cot and a memory box, which included photos and hand and foot prints.
Megan said: “Luca had hair and a little button nose, he was so cute. When I was in hospital, they treated him like he was here. They were talking to him and we were able to give him a bath. I was in hospital being treated for the infection so I had a week in hospital with him. I chose to get him embalmed. I set up the funeral arrangements and I had him at home for another week before his funeral.”
Megan and Lewis had a funeral service in March for Luca at Wear Valley Crematorium in Coundon, County Durham. Megan said walking out of the crematorium without him was the most difficult part.
She said: “When Luca was here for the week it was nice for him to go through his baby shower gifts with us. Even though he wasn’t breathing and I didn’t have to feed him, I was still bathing him and changing him. To go from that to going home without him was heartbreaking. I have made his room into a little library. I go and sit in there every night and read him a bed time story. It gives me that little bit of comfort.
“His ashes are in the little urn. Even though he’s not here physically, this is his home and he has his bedroom. That won’t get taken away from him.”
Megan wants to make others aware of Listeriosis and the symptoms to try and prevent the same thing from happening from anyone else. Megan has launched a Just Giving page in Luca’s memory and is raising funds for both 4Louis and another charity called Sands, who support bereaved families. More than £2,600 has already been donated to the online fundraising page.
The fundraising page says: “There are no words that can truly describe the heartbreak we are living through. Our precious baby boy, Luca, was tragically stillborn, and our world changed forever in an instant. The pain of losing a child is something no parent should ever have to endure, yet it is now part of our story.”
According to the NHS, Listeriosis is usually caused by eating food contaminated with listeria bacteria. Listeria can contaminate a wide range of foods, but most infections are caused by eating chilled, ready-to-eat foods, such as:
cold, cooked sliced meats and cured meatssmoked and cured fish – including in sushicooked shellfishsoft mould-ripened cheeses (such as camembert and brie) and blue-veined cheesespâtépre-prepared sandwiches and saladspre-cut fruit (such as pre-packed melon slices)unpasteurised milkdairy products made from unpasteurised milk
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