The Group B Strep Association...
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If You're... Pregnant, An At Risk Adult, A Medical Professional. |
A Letter from the President |
The Group B Strep Association (GBSA) is a non-profit
organization that was formed in June of 1990. Our goals are to educate the public
about GBS infections, to promote prevention of neonatal GBS through routine prenatal
screening, and to promote the development of the GBS vaccine. The Association has
members from all over the United States and Canada as well as many overseas countries.
Through their volunteer efforts, these individuals are educating their local communities
via newspaper articles, television programs, GBSA educational pamphlet distribution,
speaking engagements, letter writing, and sharing their own experiences with GBS.
Our efforts have been a labor of love for our children. GBSA members were able to
convince the medical community to produce standards for prevention of GBS disease
in newborns. In June of 1996, the first medical standards for neonatal GBS prevention
were published by the Centers for Disease Control and the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists. Our efforts are working! Despite GBS carriage rates remaining
the same (the number of women who carry the bacteria), both the numbers of infant
infection and death each year have been almost reduced in half since the formation
of GBSA!
For seven years, parents and families whose babies were victims of this infection have lobbied the medical establishment for prevention standards, all the time promoting routine screening of all pregnant women. Parents have taken their GBS disabled children to their legislators and their congressmen. Parents have distributed hundreds of thousands of educational pamphlets. Parents have run marathons to raise money and awareness for further education. Parents have talked to reporters, written to talk shows, talked to their communities over and over again. The Group B Strep Association is a family of families who want to prevent this disease from happening to others.
Seeing your newborn dying in the intensive care unit, watching your child not being able to walk until age seven due to GBS related complications, wondering if your next pregnancy will be healthy, anxiously hoping that you can carry a pregnancy to term and not miscarry due to GBS - this is what members of the Group B Strep Association share. We share concern and we share commitment to our children that others will be spared this fate.
Please read our information. If you are pregnant, ask your healthcare provider to screen you for GBS bacteria. Your doctor must honor your request to be screened. Inform your care providers, nurses and pediatrician if your culture is GBS positive. Prevention is critical. Prevention is key. Prevention means a healthy baby. The choice is yours.
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The Group B Strep Association was formed:
In memory of all the babies who have died; |
Support GBSA - Join Today!
- GBSA has made tremendous strides at saving lives and reducing suffering. We are entering the next phase and need even more grassroots support. You can help by:
- ordering pamphlets or movies
to distribute,
volunteering,
sending a contribution,
or just joining our organization.
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If You're... Pregnant, An At Risk Adult, A Medical Professional. |
A Letter from the President |
