Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has emotionally taken to Instagram to celebrate a historic victory for SMA testing, following her twin daughters' diagnosis with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) last year. The screening will officially be rolled out across the whole of England from October 2026, starting with seven sites and expanding to a further six.
Campaign Success
Shortly after her twin daughters, Ocean and Story, were born, they were diagnosed with SMA, a rare genetic disease that causes muscle weakness and progressive muscle wasting. Since receiving that life-changing news, Jesy has campaigned tirelessly for newborn screenings to be introduced in England. From hospital appointments to medical procedures, she has been publicly open about the journey her family has been on.
In an Instagram video, Jesy shared the news: "Morning guys, today is a very, very, very special day. The other day I had a really important phone call with James Murray and Sharon Hodgson, and they let me know that SMA is going to be rolled out across the whole of England."
Emotional Reaction
Jesy added: "I just feel super emotional. I feel super proud. I'm just so proud of every single person that got behind this campaign and all the families and people that have been working so tirelessly to get it to this point because this has been going on for years now."
She emphasized the impact: "Families have been campaigning for years to get this as part of the heel prick test. And to know today it's been officially announced no baby is going to get missed now. No baby's going to get untreated or undiagnosed. And just to know now that future babies' lives are going to look so different is just amazing."
Empowerment and Future
Despite receiving "super heartbreaking" news about her daughters' diagnosis, Jesy was determined to make it their "superpower." Reflecting on the future, she said: "As they get older and understand, I wanted them to feel empowered and I didn't want this to define them and make them feel less than. I can't wait till they're old enough to understand this moment and they can understand that their story was part of huge change."
In her parting message, Jesy admitted it was an "amazing day" and thanked everyone for their continuous support. She also has a new Amazon Prime show on the horizon.
