THE mother of a baby left with cerebral palsy after being starved of oxygen at birth is calling for pregnant women to be made more aware of the rare infection which caused his condition.

Cohben O'Brien, aged 15 months, spent two weeks in the Royal Bolton Hospital's neonatal unit after being diagnosed with Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a condition similar to meningitis.

Because she had never heard of GBS, mum Michelle Cartwright did not know there was a routine test available which could have made doctors aware her unborn child could be affected by the condition.

Now she is calling for more publicity about GBS and the £30 test which, although not available on the NHS, is widely available privately.

Nail technician Miss Cartwright, aged 26, of Bridgeman Street, Farnworth, said: "People don't know anything about GBS and I think they should be told, so they can be aware.

"I know tests aren't available to determine whether a baby has GBS on the NHS, but had I known they existed and that I could have one carried out privately, perhaps what happened to Cohben could have been prevented. I want to do all I can to stop this from happening to another family."

GBS is an infection which is passed onto the child by the mother at birth if she is a carrier, but it can be treated if it is identified thorough the test. Babies are given treatment while in the womb.

When Cohben was born, doctors had to resuscitate him three times. He was put in an incubator and given antibiotics, oxygen and a drip.

In the week following his birth, he developed a rash and Miss Cartwright, who is now a volunteer for the GBS support group, asked doctors to investigate.

Cohben was diagnosed with GBS, but because he was over the worst of the infection because he had been given penicillin.

Earlier this month Miss Cartwright and her partner, Paul O'Brien, aged 30, were told Cohben has cerebral palsy because of the problems at his birth.

He will have an MRI scan next month to determine how seriously affected he is.

As well as making people more aware of the infection, Miss Cartwright is also calling for the NHS to provide free tests for all pregnant women.

Cathy Atherton, consultant midwife at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said GBS was a very common bacteria.

"Many of us carry it in our body and it's perfectly harmless," she said. "We can swab women for it, but a few weeks later, the bacteria could be gone without any treatment it's that complex.

"If we find it in a woman's urine sample, then we treat it with antibiotics.

"A quarter of women would test positive for GBS, but a quarter of babies are not born with it.

"So if we treat everyone who tests positive for it, women could become resistant to the antibiotics."