| Shocking results from a survey by Pregnancy and Birth Magazine show that nine out of ten pregnant women haven’t heard of group B Strep (GBS), a potentially fatal infection that affects newborn babies.
National charity Group B Strep Support welcomes the magazine’s campaign to raise awareness about GBS, but says some of the statements made today are inaccurate. Jane Plumb, chair of Group B Strep Support, lost her second son to the infection ten years ago. She says: “It’s scandalous that so many babies are still dying from an infection that is so easily preventable. Every pregnant woman should be informed about GBS so she can take what steps to take to help protect her baby. By highlighting the issue, Pregnancy & Birth Magazine will mean so many more women are able to do this.
But the magazine’s claim that the NHS does nothing to prevent GBS infections in newborn babies is unfair. If GBS is picked up in a woman’s urine or from a swab during pregnancy, most NHS maternity units will act. And many also adhere to the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists’ (RCOG) guidelines which set out a risk factor approach to preventing GBS infection in newborn babies.
But certainly the NHS could do more to prevent more GBS infections in babies - with preventative medicine 80-90% of these devastating infections could be prevented. But, even with the best screening, antenatal and perinatal care a very small number of babies will still become infected. And some babies will also get “late-onset” GBS infection (from 3 days to 3 months old) and no amount of screening women for GBS late in pregnancy will prevent this, although making sure the parents are aware of what symptoms to watch for and what action to take can make a huge difference.
Group B Strep Support is campaigning for the government to ensure reliable testing for GBS is routinely offered to every pregnant woman and available on the NHS. If this test shows she carries GBS, then she should be offered intravenous antibiotics from the start of labour until her baby is born. Until this is available, GBSS supports the RCOG’s risk factor approach to preventing GBS infection in babies which, although not as effective, will – if properly implemented - still prevent most GBS infections in newborn babies.
In the meantime, only greater education and awareness about GBS, amongst both expectant parents and health professionals involved in maternity care, will help to save these babies’ lives.”
 Survey results in Pregnancy and Birth Magazine confirm that lack of awareness is costing babies’ lives, but inaccuracies cloud the picture
1. Group B Strep Support (GBSS) is a UK charity set up to prevent GBS infection in newborn babies. Jane and Robert Plumb founded GBSS following the death of their second child, Theo, from GBS in 1996; they had a healthy child, Camilla, in August 1998.
2. GBS is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies in the UK. Without preventative medicine, GBS infects up to 700 babies a year, killing an estimated 75 and leaving 40 with serious long-term mental or physical problems.
3. GBS is a normal bacteria carried by up to 30% of adults. It can be passed from mother to baby during labour. For most babies this causes no problems: for others it’s deadly, causing blood poisoning and meningitis. A reliable test to check for GBS in pregnant women, routinely used in the USA and elsewhere, is only available privately in the UK. Evidence shows that screening with this method - and giving intravenous antibiotic injections during labour to women at higher risk of passing on the bacteria - would prevent up to 80% of all GBS infections in newborn babies. At present 3,000 women are tested each year in the UK – less than 0.5% of pregnant women.
4. Reliable tests for GBS are only readily available from one private laboratory in the UK. Packs containing the necessary swabs can be obtained free, and a postal service for carrying out the test costs £32. Please contact The Doctors Laboratory on 020 7307 7373
5. Most pregnant women have not heard of GBS. For more information about Group B Strep Click Here or phone 0870 8030023.
6. David Cameron MP tabled an Early Day Motion No 538 asking the Government to facilitate full implementation of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ (RCOG) national GBS guidelines, and urging the Department of Health to ensure reliable testing for GBS carriage in pregnancy - recognised by the RCOG’s guidelines as optimal - is urgently made available on the NHS. 94 MPs from all parties have so far signed the motion, demonstrating the wide level of support for this important issue around the country.
7. GBSS has no links nor receives any money from any laboratory. GBSS wants to see the sensitive tests for GBS carriage available routinely to all pregnant women on the NHS but, until it is, is supporting the RCOG’s national guidelines for a risk-factor approach to preventing GBS infection in newborn babies.
Read more about Group B Strep in Babies Being Killed by Lack of Information
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