Rejected petition Preventing Group B Strep (GBS) infection in babies

Group B Strep (GBS) is the most common cause of severe infection in newborn babies. Most of these infections could be prevented if mothers carrying GBS late in pregnancy were identified and offered antibiotics intravenously in labour.

In the UK, pregnant women are not routinely told about group B Strep, nor are they offered the option of being tested for it late in pregnancy. Many other western countries offer this as standard and have seen the incidence of GBS infection in newborn babies fall significantly. In the UK, the incidence has risen since guidelines were introduced by the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists in 2003 - this needs to change.

We ask that 1) sensitive testing for group B Strep is made freely available on the NHS at the request of pregnant women and at the request of their health professionals; and 2) that all women are routinely informed about group B Strep as a routine part of their antenatal care.