Many returns
Mon 8th Sep 2008 by Ben Palmer.Tonight our long summer holidays end. We've had an amazing time, visiting Scotland and Portugal, enjoying glorious sunshine in both, but tomorrow all three of us start again at school. I go back in my working capacity in I.T., Harry returns now in Upper School and Emily joins us for her first day at 'big school' in Reception.
How vividly I remember Harry's first day three years ago: shy and nervous, clinging to my arm. How quickly he learned to adore his teacher, an adoration Emily is already learning, before she has started, of the same teacher in the same classroom. How happy Emily will be. How proud a mother Jessica would have been.
But enough of holidays and school. I must also reverse the partially deliberate neglection of the blog and Jessica's Trust. I must pick up the reins and gallop into the enormous amount of work, the Charity Commission's queries, notes that need be written for the meetings I have and the speech I must deliver to a conference of midwives in October.
I feel recharged and energised, and as if I didn't already have enough reason to put my back into Jessica's Trust, I have heard from yet more families who have been deeply affected by childbed fever with horrendous long term illness. We must look beyond the statistics of maternal death to these uncounted cases of horrific suffering and pain from genital tract sepsis and its consequences.
In the meantime, my apologies for going AWOL and my warmest thanks to all those who have left messages of support and appreciation.
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Hi Ben,
I hope you will use your appearance at the midwifes conference to raise awareness of the dangers of both Group A and Group B strep.
I know from some of your posts that you are not a supporter of the screening tests, but when you look at the mortality rate of babies from GBS, as well as from GAS, there is clearly a case for compulsory testing. So many lives could be saved by this. Awareness is good, but prevention is better.
It is obscene that the UK is one of the only countries that don't screen.
Hi MW
Group A and B infections are so different, and I am not as familiar with Group B Strep. I think I would be a supporter of screening for Group B, as I believe the baby is most vulnerable during labour.
My aversion to screening for Group A is that the mother is at risk for a far far greater period, at any point during which she could acquire an infection. I hope that makes sense!
Ben