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GBS Virtual Conference
Our virtual one-day conference Group B Strep in Pregnancy & Babies is on Wednesday, 2 June 2021. It’s a must-attend event for anyone interested in group B Strep.
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The conference brings together worldleading experts to talk about group B Strep prevention policies, different testing options, antibiotic usage, and the progress towards a GBS vaccine.
The morning and afternoon sessions will be chaired by Edward Morris, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and Kathryn Gutteridge, President of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), featuring experts from Public Health England, the UK National Screening Committee, the World Health Organisation, Pfizer and the GBS3 Trial. Plus our very own CEO, Jane Plumb, and the Chair of our Medical Advisory Panel, Prof Philip Steer. It’s going to be a fabulous day! View the full programme and book your place at https://
gbss.org.uk/professional-resources/ conference-2021/
GBS3 Trial
This important £2.8 million trial will establish which prevention strategy is best for the UK at reducing group B Strep infection in newborn babies.
After a lengthy pause due to the pandemic, the GBS3 trial is now underway, and has randomised the first four hospitals. 40 hospitals will be allocated to standard care (as described by the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists), 20 to ECM testing at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy, and 20 using a rapid test in labour. Park) and three to standard care (Coventry & Warwick, Nottingham and Royal Devon & Exeter).
The GBS3 team is working closely with many hospitals to get them GBS3 ready and monthly randomisations are scheduled, but they’re still looking for more sites and invite ‘Expressions of Interest’ from hospitals via a site-selection survey.
Visit gbss.org.uk/GBS3 for the latest information and how to get your hospital involved.
GBS3 Trial results, expected in 2023, will provide evidence for the next review of the UK’s national policy on screening pregnant women for GBS carriage.
Baby Chesten’s story
Chesten’s mum Sophia writes,
“I tested positive for group B Strep in my second pregnancy. Chesten was my fourth.
After a night of contractions my waters broke at 9.30 am. I begged for antibiotics because I was scared. I was finally given them 1 hour before the birth. He came out grunting and was pale.
Chesten had contracted GBS pneumonia. I sat by his incubator every day staring at him, grieving over my sick child, helplessly miles away from home and my 3 older children. Chesten uses inhalers, but he’s thriving.”
Your donation can make a difference. To help us support families like Chesten‘s and Henry‘s, please donate at: gbss.org.uk/donate
Baby Henry’s story
Henry’s mum Rebecca writes,
“I went to hospital after developing a temperature and other worrying symptoms.
My baby’s heart rate was dangerously low and I was taken for an emergency Csection. I was separated from my baby, placed in isolation, pumped full of drugs and wired up to various machines.
Test results confirmed group B Strep sepsis which had affected my kidneys. Henry received antibiotics as a precaution, but he too was lucky. At no point during my pregnancy did anyone talk to me about group B Strep.”
Baby Minnie’s story
Minnie’s mum Anna writes,
“I woke up at midnight when my waters had broken. After 17 hours the hospital said my baby was face presentation.
My body was constantly shaking and I felt freezing cold. I later found out I had contracted sepsis.
I was then taken for an emergency C-section. My daughter Minnie was born at 4.04 am and rushed to intensive care.
We spent nine days in hospital together. She had the highest infection marker they had ever seen on a newborn in the hospital.”
Willing to share your family‘s experience of GBS? Your story matters. Please email us at: info@gbss.org.uk
Baby Isabelle & Sammy’s story
Mum Gill writes,
“This is Isabelle. She contracted late-onset group B Strep meningitis at 23 days old and was hospitalised for 2 months.
Here she is now. 18 months old and thriving! GBSS have been an incredible support to me and my family for the last few years since Isabelle’s older brother Sammy was also diagnosed with lateonset GBS meningitis in February 2017.
I would encourage anyone who is pregnant or considering expanding their family to visit the GBSS website and familiarise themselves with the symptoms of GBS infection and how to test.”
