My midwife said I was just ‘under the weather’ then my baby was stillborn… mums must not dismiss flu symptoms

FLOORED by sickness and flu symptoms, I asked my midwife if it was normal that I felt unwell. I was 23 weeks pregnant with my boy, Luca, and she reassured me “you’re probably just under the weather”. Megan Broomfield’s, pictured with her partner Lewis, baby was sadly stillborn at 31 weeks Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield Megan said it was a miracle she got pregnant in the first place as she had ulcerative colitis and was told it might be harder to conceive Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield It was a miracle that I had got pregnant in the first place, I was due in April 2026. When I was 19, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an incurable inflammatory bowel disease. Urgent trips to the toilet, crippling cramps and bleeding blighted my life. I’d been hospitalised several times when the effects had become too severe. But I was determined not to let it stop me from enjoying my life and made sure I went out with friends. ‘I’m not hiding away,’ I told my mum, Kathy. I started dating Lewis when I was 24, and he was one year older than me. We’d known each other since we were teenagers but had always been in relationships with other people. Yet when we both found ourselves single, romance blossomed. Lewis, self-employed in cladding, was so understanding about my condition and insisted on being at my side whenever I needed to go to hospital. During one appointment, my doctor told me the colitis had worsened so much that I might need to have a stoma fitted. The couple’s baby was due to be born in April 2026 Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield Megan’s start of the pregnancy was tough, with her ulcerative colitis making it hard to keep food or water down Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield Thankfully, blood tests showed I hadn’t reached that point and doctors suggested I could try a different treatment first. It was decided that every six weeks I’d go into hospital to have an infusion from an IV drip to try to keep the disease under control. But my heart dropped when a nurse said, “Your condition could affect your ability to conceive”. I didn’t have any immediate plans for a family, but knew I wanted children in the future. However, just two days after my first IV drip, I realised my period was a few days’ late. My jaw dropped in disbelief. Later, I waved the test at Lewis and said, ‘It’s positive.’ We were both stunned but thrilled. We’d beaten the odds! Despite the shock, I began to prepare for my baby’s arrival. But I was exhausted, suffering colitis flare-ups, and could barely keep food down and sip water. I continued to go to hospital for my IV infusions and by the time I was 23 weeks, I could eat some solid food. But shortly afterwards, I came down with flu-like symptoms. It was over Christmas 2025 when the flu was going around and I knew I had caught it because my colitis medication makes my immune system weaker. I was shivering and shaking one minute, then hot and sweaty the next. I took paracetamol to ease the symptoms. Slowly, I recovered, and not long after we discovered that we were having a boy. Megan developed flu-like symptoms at 23 weeks pregnant but she slowly recovered from it Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield But shortly before her baby shower, Megan started to experience flu-like symptoms again Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield My mum and older sister Danielle insisted on arranging my baby shower, and I was excited. We decided to host it when I would be 31 weeks. But in the run-up, I suddenly felt hot and sweaty again. I thought it was the flu again, especially because I get poorly more than the average person, but it felt much worse and I couldn’t shake the high temperature. At my next appointment, I mentioned the fever to my midwife. “You’re probably just under the weather,” she said. On the morning of my baby shower, February 15, 2026, I woke up and found I’d been spotting blood and I anxiously phoned the hospital. They told me to come in, so Lewis drove us, and a heart monitor was attached to me. “Don’t worry, you’ll be out in time for your baby shower,” the nurse smiled. Mum and Danielle had gone to my house to get everything ready while medics kept an eye on me. Everything seemed okay, until three hours later, when one of the nurses looked at the screen and frowned. “There’s something not right with the baby’s heart rate,” she said. Megan woke up with spotting one morning in February and after speaking to doctors, they told her to come into hospital Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield Megan had to have an emergency C-section and was tragically told her son was stillborn Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield Alarmed, I watched as she pressed the emergency button and a doctor arrived, who quickly examined me and said, “This baby needs to come out”. Seconds later, I was being wheeled into theatre and was prepared for a C-section – and Lewis wasn’t able to come with me. Everything happened so quickly. All I could do was pray my baby would be OK as I was put to sleep. Afterwards, I groggily opened my eyes, not quite registering where I was. Lewis wasn’t there, and I was told he was waiting for me. And then suddenly I realised where I was, and my baby wasn’t with me. As I desperately asked where he was, the doctor’s face came into focus. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “He wasn’t breathing when he was born. He hasn’t made it.” The doctors had carried out CPR for 33 minutes to try to save my precious boy. It was then that Lewis returned and we met our son, who we named Luca. We were taken to a bereavement suite and we held our son close. Instead of being surrounded by my family and friends at a joyous baby shower, I was grappling with the loss of my darling baby boy. As I battled raw grief, my mind whirred with questions. What had happened? Was I to blame? Heartbroken, I listened to the doctors as they told me they would test Luca’s placenta to try to find out why he’d died. As we made funeral arrangements, we found out Luca had been suffering from listeriosis. Tests run on Luca after he was born revealed that he had been suffering from listeriosis Credit: Baeur / Megan Broomfield What is listeriosis? Listeriosis is a rare infection caused by bacteria called listeria. It usually goes away on its own, but it can make some people seriously ill. Listeriosis is usually caused by eating food contaminated with listeria bacteria. Listeria can contaminate a wide range of foods, but most infections are caused by eating chilled, ready-to-eat foods, such as: Cold, cooked sliced meats and cured meats Smoked and cured fish – including sushi Cooked shellfish Soft mould-ripened cheeses (such as camembert and brie) and blue-veined cheeses Pâté Pre-prepared sandwiches and salads Pre-cut fruit (such as pre-packed melon slices) Unpasteurised milk Dairy products from unpasteurised milk These foods do not always contain listeria. If you have eaten them recently, you do not need to do anything unless you get symptoms of the infection. While it is less common, you can also catch the infection from someone else who has it if you eat food they’ve handled when they’ve not washed their hands, for example. Close contact with farm animals – especially sheep and cows that are giving birth – could also risk you catching the infection. In most people, listeriosis has no symptoms or only causes mild symptoms for a few days, such as: a high temperature aches and pains chills feeling or being sick diarrhoea If you’re pregnant, you may also have a stomach ache or notice your baby moving less than usual. Babies with listeriosis may also be irritable and feed less than usual. Listeriosis is not usually serious for most people. But some people have a higher risk of serious problems, including: anyone who is pregnant newborn babies people with a condition that weakens their immune system, such as cancer, diabetes, liver disease or kidney disease people having treatment that weakens their immune system, such as chemotherapy or steroid tablets Older people are also at higher risk of getting seriously ill from listeriosis, and this risk increases with age. If you get listeriosis while you’re pregnant, there is a risk it could cause miscarriage or stillbirth. In babies and people with a weakened immune system, listeriosis can sometimes lead to serious and life-threatening problems such as sepsis or meningitis. If you’re pregnant and think you have listeriosis, ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111. Foods to avoid if you’re at risk If you’re pregnant or have a weakened immune system, you should avoid eating ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish products, such as smoked salmon or gravlax (unless cooked until steaming hot). Source: NHS I had it too; I found out that it was a rare infection caused by eating food contaminated with listeria bacteria. It could be present in lots of types of food, but mainly in chilled, ready-to-eat food, such as sliced meat, fish, soft cheese, pate and salads. It turns out my fever wasn’t the flu, after all. It was listeriosis, which can be more serious for people who are pregnant. If listeriosis had been diagnosed when I’d had the fever, Luca could have potentially been saved. I don’t feel that midwives have enough knowledge about this infection, and that’s what I want to change. I want them to receive more training and to be able to inform those most vulnerable, like myself. I had never heard of the infection until it was too late. I did a questionnaire in hospital afterwards for research purposes and there were so many foods on there that you would deem as normal, such as milk, cheese, ham and much more. Racking my brain, I remember I ate hotdogs a couple of days before the fever, and I question to this day if it was them. But it’s impossible to know. After a week, we were allowed to take Luca back home. Mum had asked what I wanted to do with the baby shower gifts, if I wanted them put in the bedroom we’d prepared for Luca or taken away to spare further heartbreak. But I was determined to show Luca all his presents and, tears pricking, I carried him into his bedroom. Elephants were my favourite animals, and one of my friends had bought a huge grey toy for Luca. I sat down and held onto him, my tears streaming for the boy who’d never get to see the room we’d so lovingly prepared for him. Luca was cremated wearing a Babygro with little elephants on the front and his ashes remain in the bedroom he never got to see. Afterwards, a resolve began to harden inside me and I wanted to help stop this happening to other parents. Now, I’m determined to raise awareness of listeriosis so medics and parents are better informed about the symptoms and can act earlier. In the meantime, we’ve raised money for a charity called 4Louis, which provides support for parents who’ve suffered the loss of their baby, and for the stillbirth charity Sands. I don’t want any other parent to have to go through that heartache.