In 2014, Hayley Drew from Bawtry, South Yorkshire, experienced the tragic loss of her newborn twin daughter, Isabella (Bella) Rosa Drew, to whooping cough (pertussis) just ten days after her birth. Hayley had undergone IVF treatment and delivered twins, Bella and Ella, on August 11, 2014, at the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The pregnancy followed the reversal of a vasectomy her husband had undergone previously. Despite the smooth delivery, a whooping cough outbreak posed a severe risk to infants, particularly those who had not yet had their immunization shots, typically administered at eight weeks old.
While whooping cough vaccines are recommended during pregnancy to protect newborns, Hayley was not offered the vaccine, missing the opportunity for preventive care against this infectious disease. This tragedy highlights the importance of maternal vaccinations, especially during whooping cough outbreaks, where the disease can be life-threatening for babies. Despite the introduction of maternal whooping cough vaccinations two years prior to Bella’s birth in 2012, Bella succumbed to the illness after a brief hospital battle, marking a devastating loss for the Drew family and spotlighting gaps in healthcare communication and practices.