Doctors said I had ‘first-time parent paranoia’ when I begged them to help my newborn baby… hours later he was dead
A MUM was told she had "first-time parent paranoia" by doctors just hours before her baby tragically died.
Harvey Saines passed away in his sleep due to strep A sepsis and myocardial fibrosis - a heart disease.
Mum Lilly Rossiter, 21, and dad Zach Saines, 28, noticed Harvey was "jerking" after he was born but were told it was just a reflex.
The parents also noticed he was really sleepy and wouldn't wake up to take a bottle and took Harvey to A&E when he was a week old.
They were told they were "probably being paranoid being first time parents" and sent home after doctors watched him take a bottle.
She rang 111 with the same concerns but was told it was told again it was just a reflex.
Read more on Health
But five days later Lilly woke up to feed her son to find he wasn't breathing.
Zach, who works at an arcade, started giving him CPR and he was rushed to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children but they were unable to save him.
Now Lilly feels "traumatised" and still has nightmares.
Lilly, a stay-at-home-mum, from Weston-super-Mare, said: "No one would listen to us. He was jerking from his infection.
Most read in Health
"Doctors said we were first time parents and we had brought him in for no reason.
"Three days later he died in his sleep."
Lilly had a smooth pregnancy until doctors noticed her baby had a lack of movement at 34 weeks.
She nearly underwent an emergency c-section at 36 weeks when her and Harvey's heart rate skyrocketed but were sent home when it settled back down.
Lilly was scheduled in for a planned C-section at 39 weeks and Harvey was safely born on March 29, 2022 at St Michael's Hospital, Bristol.
But Lilly immediately noticed something was wrong.
She said: "In his crib he was jerking. They told me it was reflex."
The newborn came home after three days but Lilly continued to worry about his jerky movements.
She said: "I noticed he had blue lips around his mouth.
"I searched online and it said it was normal for C-section babies.
"A week later he was crying all night. He was constantly jerking.
"He was really sleepy. He wouldn't wake up for bottles."
Lilly rang 999 and paramedics came to test Harvey's glucose levels but said he was fine.
Her family encouraged Lilly to take him to Weston General Hospital A&E on April 5, 2022.
She said: "We explained to them what was going on and that he was not feeding and throwing up the bottle.
"They said 'feed him in front of us and we'll see how he is'.
"He was fine and went back to sleep and they said 'you can go now'.
"I said 'what about the jerking?' "They said 'you're probably being paranoid first time parents'.
"He threw up the bottle five minutes later."
Lilly says she rang 111 on April 17, 2022 worried about Harvey's jerking and vomiting - and spoke to a doctor on a video call - but was told it was reflex again.
Five days later on April 22, 2022 Lilly woke up to her alarm to feed Harvey.
She said: "I was trying to wake him up.
"I'd seen he was white and blue. He wasn't breathing. I was screaming at my partner.
"My partner started giving him CPR."
The couple called the ambulance and they were taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children where doctors tried to revive little Harvey.
Lilly said: "A consultant came in and said he had died three hours before we woke up.
"We were crying. We were so shocked."
A post mortem revealed Harvey had passed away from Strep A sepsis and myocardial fibrosis and had a lack of oxygen during the pregnancy.
His symptoms had been linked to his infection.
The young couple have struggled with their loss and Lilly says she often has nightmares.
She said: "Me and my partner have been struggling really bad.
"His little coffin was too small for it to be in the hearse.
"Everyone was sobbing."
Lilly welcomed her second son Harrison, now one, on May 9, 2023 but her previous experience left her on edge.
She said: "The amount of times I rang the ambulance when he was born - that's how bad it traumatised me."
Harrison has also been treated four times for strep A - including two hospitalisations when he went into to septic shock.
She said: "I feel like he's going to die in his sleep.
"When I see Harrison playing by himself it makes me cry.
"I have pictures of Harrison visiting Harvey's grave.
"I call it his garden.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"When I get paid I know he's not here but I buy little bits for his garden."
Weston General Hospital and the NHS trust have contacted for comment.
