A 21-YEAR-OLD whose first baby died suddenly from meningitis says becoming pregnant again is a bittersweet feeling.

Shelley Bagnall says she and her partner Dan Davies are delighted she is pregnant again after their son Harvey died from brain damage caused by meningitis in October last year, just 14 days after being born.

However, 21-year-old Miss Bagnall says she and Mr Davies, 22, are still haunted by Harvey’s death and cannot help fearing the same will happen to their new child.

Miss Bagnall, of Cherry Avenue in Swanley, is 14 weeks pregnant and says: “We are both really excited to be pregnant again but I am a bit nervous because of what happened to Harvey.

“It does feel weird to be going through pregnancy again, because I went through it with Harvey and it all went wrong, so it’s difficult to relax and feel secure.

“We had planned so much for Harvey so it was then so painful to not be able to carry out the plans when he died, and my biggest fear is that the same will happen again.”

Harvey died less than 48 hours after his parents had taken him to The Oaks Surgery in Nightingale Way, Swanley, because he was pale and having difficulty breathing.

A GP there prescribed medicine for colic and sent him home, however the next morning he was stiff and started to have a seizure, so he was rushed to Darent Valley Hospital.

At around 1pm Harvey was put onto a breathing machine and scans showed he had brain damage.

He was transferred to St Thomas Hospital in Westminster at around 8.30pm, and staff worked frantically to save him.

However, by around 2am Harvey was totally brain dead and just the life support machine was keeping him alive.

Describing the moment he was told his son would die, thermal insulator Mr Davies said: “My heart just shattered into pieces.”

An inquest into Harvey’s death at Southwark Coroners Court on May 14 ruled he had died from natural causes.

Miss Bagnall says she was “totally devastated” after Harvey’s death and felt she had nothing to look forward to.

However, she decided to begin training as a nurse to look after other children and she and Mr Davies then decided to try for another baby.

She said: “It was a surprise when I found out I was pregnant because what had happened with Harvey and the stress made me think it would take ages to get pregnant.”

Pregnancy means she has had to delay starting her access to nursing course until September next year, but she says she does not mind because she is so excited about having another baby.

She said: “Overall I am positive for the future because we now have something to look forward to.”