Campaigning mums with some of their children - Stella Coffee, Natalie Margetson, Leon Blackman, Courtney Barnes and Juliet Green

by Jamie Bullen

Worried parents have called for an investigation after five babies in one street were diagnosed with the same rare birth defect.

The youngsters – including two unborn children – have all been diagnosed with gastroschisis, a condition where the bowels stick out through an opening in the abdomen.

The women were all living in Waterdales, Northfleet, when they fell pregnant.

Gravesham MP Adam Holloway is now writing to health secretary Andrew Lansley, calling for an investigation.

Another mother’s unborn child was also diagnosed when she was living in nearby Dover Road. The cases stretch over a period of 12 years.

The group discovered the unusual similarity after chatting with neighbours, family and friends. Now they want answers.

Sonia Dalton , 35, who now lives in Epsom Close, said her daughter Mikka, now three, was diagnosed during a 21-week scan.

what is gastroschisis?

gastroschisis affects one-in-7,000 newborns, who need immediate surgery. the exact cause for the condition is unknown.

according to experts, it is not caused by any single factor.

the defect usually occurs on the right hand side of the umbilical cord.

there is no overlying sac, exposing the intestines to an increased amount of amniotic fluid, which prevents the development of the baby.

gastroschisis has very few other complications and rarely repeats itself, so is unlikely to be a genetic condition.

The youngster was in intensive care for five weeks after she was born and has had her bowels, appendix, ovaries and fallopian tubes put back into place.

She visits King’s College, in London, every six months for check-ups and takes daily medication.

Her mother said: “I told the doctors and they were gobsmacked - we need answers to this.”

Juliet Green , 39, now of Raphael Road, Gravesend, was living in Waterdales when her unborn daughter Courtney was diagnosed.

Now 10, Courtney has had multiple operations, including two blood transfusions a year, in one of the worst cases of gastroschisis.

Juliet said: “It seems so weird that this has happened to so many people living in the same street.

“We haven’t been given a reason why, we just don’t know.”

Juliet said she was stunned when her daughter Natalie Margetson, who still lives in Waterdales, said her unborn child had also been diagnosed.

She said: “She phoned me up crying and I thought she’d had a miscarriage.

“We need answers to this. We want to see if other parents have had problems and see if anything can be done.”

Natalie, 21, said: “I was pregnant with Leon at the same time as Sonia was, so to hear both our children had gastroschisis was a shock.”

The most recent cases are those of expectant mothers Stella Coffee, 38, and Chantelle Stevens , 23, who have also been told their babies will be born with condition.

Stella said: “I came back from the scan and told my neighbour who said I was the fifth. I couldn’t believe it.

“It is quite traumatising. No one wants to see their baby hurting. We’re lucky there are many of us and we’re not going through this on our own.”

A sixth child was also born with gastroschisis in a nearby road.

Helen Gallagher, 35, now lives in Higham but lived in Dover Road 12 years ago when son Lewis was born with the condition.

The women all lived in Waterdales, Northfleet, when they fell pregnant

The group has been advised by doctors at King’s College Hospital to report their cases to the Director of Public Health at NHS Kent and Medway for a full investigation.

A spokesman said the hospital could not comment on individual cases.

They already have the backing of Gravesham MP Adam Holloway.

Mr Holloway said research showed bowel dysfunction could be caused by mothers living close to where pesticides had been used.

He said: “I think a health investigation would be a very good idea, and I am writing to the Secretary of State for health along these lines.”

A Gravesham council spokesman said it had not been informed by any health bodies of the cases.