Olympian Iwan Thomas whose baby caught a killer infection when he was just a few hours old is calling on NHS hospitals to sign up to a trial to stop more babies dying.
One baby a week dies in the UK and another is left with life-changing disabilities due to Group B Strep - an infection that most people have never heard of until its too late.
Iwan was one of those people until little baby Teddy was born and within four hours the tot was in intensive care battling to stay alive.
Speaking to the Mirror, Iwan said: "We had never heard of it.
"Teddy was born and then four hours later he began breathing funny and the midwife said that's not right. He went downhill really, really quickly.
"I went from being the happiest man alive to the lowest point where my son was in intensive care."
The world champion runner added: "I remember four doctors we hadn't seen before were round him and they said we need to take him straight away and do a lumbar puncture.
"They were worried he would get meningitis and it would get to his spinal fluid and brain."
Teddy had contracted Group B Strep from his mum during birth as she was a carrier, which could have been picked up with a simple test.
Group B Strep is a bacteria carried by 20 to 25% of adults in the UK, typically in the gut or vagina and carrying GBS doesn’t mean you have an infection or illness, it rarely causes any symptoms to the carrier, and does not need to be treated.
GBS most commonly causes sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis.
Around 1 in every 1,750 babies in the UK and Ireland is diagnosed with early-onset group B Strep infection when they are between 0 and 6 days old.
With 50 babies a year dying and 75 more being left with life-long disabilities as a result of GBS.
A simple test - which would cost the NHS just £11 - could have prevented Teddy getting so poorly if it was routinely available during antenatal care.
Iwan, who earlier this year was the winner of Celebrity Hunted, added: "I just don't get it, most affluent countries test for it.
"It all comes down to money and the NHS is so stretched.
"If money was no object I'm sure we would test routinely.
"It's so frustrating. It's such a simple test."
Although the test is already carried out routinely during pregnancy in most of Europe and the US, the NHS won't approve its use until a large trial is completed.
A £4million trial, run by the University of Nottingham, is due to begin in September, but it needs 80 hospitals across England, Wales and Scotland to take part, so 320,000 mothers and their babies can be tested.
So far just 30 hospitals are signed up to being part of the trial.
Asked if he had a message for the hospitals not yet signed up, Iwan said: "Just please, it's so important and I know it comes down to money but we are talking about children.
"It's so preventable. I have been messaged by so many people who have lost children or whose children need life long care. We need to get the test on the NHS."
Group B Strep Support's chief executive Jane Plumb told the Mirror: “It’s so frustrating that 26 years after my son Theo died from group B Strep infection, families are still telling us at the charity that they'd never heard of group B Strep until their baby was fighting for their life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
"The UK has fallen behind most developed countries by not testing all pregnant women for group B Strep.
"The GBS3 trial gives us a perfect opportunity to find out what is the best way to stop these infections in newborn babies. But it’s at risk of failure because too few hospitals are signing up to take part.
"Please visit our website and use the form there to write to your MP about this important issue. It'll take you less than 2 minutes and will help save lives.”
Speaking about little Teddy, who is now three, Iwan said he knows they are lucky he survived but he still faces day-to-day issues due to Group B Strep.
He said Teddy struggles with his immune system and is unable to brush off normal colds from nurseries like his peers would, and can take weeks to get over them.
Iwan, who starred on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, said: "Most people looking at Teddy see him as an energetic boy, and he is, but he's ill more than he is well.
"We are grateful for the NHS saving his life and I get messaged by people who lost their children years ago and are shocked that it's still not tested for.
"Teddy has had infections because of strep B and has been blue-lighted to hospital twice.
"It's my duty to push this as much as i can, I did a 100-mile ultra marathon last year for all those families who didn't get to take their baby home.
"I have to get the message out there."
Iwan and his partner have gone on to have a second child and paid around £40 to be tested privately for the infection.
When his partner's water broke she was given IV antibiotics during labour and Dougie was born healthy.
Dougie is now three months old.
For more information about how to get tested, what it means if you test positive for Group B Strep and the signs to look out for in your newborn, click here
