‘I didn’t realise at the time that anything was wrong. I assumed my symptoms were due to painkillers.’ 

Caitlin from Yate near Bristol lives with her partner – the father of their two-year-old daughter Bella – Sam. She works part time at a local restaurant and says that her hobbies include spending time with her family and being near the sea. 

Back in April 2022, as she neared her due date with Bella, Caitlin’s life was to be dramatically turned upside down. She explains what happened here,  

My daughter Bella was due on the 31st of March 2022. My pregnancy had generally been easy, apart from severe back pain. Then on 2nd April, two days after my due date, my waters broke. I was SO relieved – finally – as I was overdue and I just couldn’t wait to meet her!  

But when I got to hospital they told me that there were no signs that I was in labour and I was sent home. I continued to ring the hospital daily until the 5th of April when – again, finally – my contractions started. 

I went back to hospital at that point and was given Oramorph for pain relief. I was then sent home again though as the hospital still said my waters hadn’t broke and I was only 1cm dilated. It was in the car on the way home that I started to feel really unwell. I was confused, feverish, sweating and I started to vomit.  

It was a few hours later, back at home, that a family member suggested that they thought I should really ring the hospital again, at which point the staff advised me to come in straight away.  

My daughter Bella was finally born in the early hours of 6th April 2022. It was shortly after that that I was diagnosed with sepsis and given IV antibiotics. I am fairly sure I overheard someone say that I was potentially six hours away from death.  

I was shocked when I got my sepsis diagnosis. I had heard about sepsis before but I was completely unaware of how dangerous it was and is. My family were obviously also really shocked, and fearful. The whole experience was traumatic – not least for my partner – and it’s still something that he still finds difficult to talk about nearly three years on. 

I was then treated at the RUH in Bath with IV and oral antibiotics for seven to ten days or so. Happily they cleared the infection and I’m no longer receiving treatment. 

During my treatment and recovery though Sam and my family were fantastic. When I was diagnosed I felt that I had been one of the unlucky ones. Now, if I am honest, I feel that more could and should have been done.  

I had been a little bit aware of Sepsis Research FEAT previously. Nearly three years on I now want to work with the charity to share my story and help raise awareness amongst pregnant women and new mothers – to stop this happening to other women. I guess that my message to others would be that you should know the signs but also fight for what you need. Don’t allow yourself to be convinced otherwise.  

Charity Comment: 

It is always shocking to read a story that reflects fear and trauma in a woman’s life at the point where she should be looking forward to the joy of her new family. 

We are so grateful to Caitlin for sharing her experience and very glad indeed that she ultimately got the treatment she needed, made the recovery that she did and has not gone on to suffer significant long-term effects of sepsis. 

One of the most important aspects of Caitlin’s story though is the message that women need to have the confidence to air their concerns and not be fearful to ask for help when they feel they need it, even when they are responsible for a new baby. 

Caitlin was also very wise to take the advice of the family member who encouraged her to re-present at hospital. Sepsis is notoriously hard to diagnose and clinicians may need to see a patient at exactly the right moment to make that accurate diagnosis. As a charity we would therefore always encourage people to go back to a GP or hospital if they condition does not improve or deteriorates.