Noah

When mum Alex was 34 weeks pregnant, she went into premature labour with Noah. Alex shares her story.

“When Noah was six weeks old, he appeared very sleepy and did not want to feed. After being told not to worry by my Health Visitor over the phone, a good friend saw my concerns and took us both to A&E.

We spent three days with him sedated and various tests before they said that he had meningitis, which was likely to have been caused by late-onset group B Strep infection.

Our care was outstanding the whole time and one of our consultants said that there are a lot of symptoms of meningitis other than the well-known rash.”

Noah has since recovered and has completed his first year of school.

Share your story

If you are happy to share your story with us, we would love to hear from you. For more details please email info@gbss.org.uk

60 Miles in June

Thank you to all our supporters who participated in the 60 Miles in June challenge and raised over £16,000 for Group B Strep Support.

Avril

Avril signed up to participate in the 60 Miles in June Challenge in memory of her granddaughter, Pippa, who sadly died from group B Strep infection at just one-day old.

“I’m pleased to say I completed my challenge and enjoyed every minute! I walked 70.15 miles in total and raised £490 and, of course, lots of awareness about group B Strep.

Thank you to all my supporters, those who donated and who have provided encouragement by joining me on some of my walks.”

Are you ready for a challenge?

Visit our website to find an event near you

Community Champions

We are grateful to all our volunteer Community Champions who help support us with our challenge Facebook groups.

Lois

Lois became a community champion after she participated in a squats Facebook challenge. She is passionate about raising awareness of group B Strep after her daughter Markeshia sadly passed away from a late-onset group B Strep infection. Lois told us:

If you love spending time on social media, then GBSS would be delighted to hear from you. We are always looking for Volunteers to help inspire and motivate our supporters in our upcoming challenges. E-mail the fundraising team for more info fundraising@gbss.org.uk

Darcey

Darcey’s family and friends raised £260 by holding a garden party and raffle during last July's Group B Strep Awareness Month.

Darcey contracted group B Strep infection 20 minutes after she was born. Bethany, Darcey’s mum shares her story.

“I noticed something wasn’t right. She was making grunting noises, had a very weak cry and had spit bubbles coming from her mouth.

After a visit from the doctor, she was immediately put on oxygen and had wires all over her chest in an incubator, and with a cannula in her tiny hand.

I had never heard of group B Strep nor knew how dangerous this infection could be. After 11 days in the hospital her bloods were clear, and we were finally able to take her home.”

Darcey recovered. Bethany wants more families to be informed of GBS in pregnancy.