Preventing Group B Strep From Hurting Your Baby!

If You're Pregnant The Group B Strep Association (GBSA)

Are you pregnant, or do you know someone who is? Perhaps you are a parent who has experienced firsthand the horrible effects of a Group B Strep infection. The Group B Strep Association wants to educate you about this issue. Please join us in our efforts to put an end to this preventable infection. This year over 12,000 newborns will become infected with Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria. Approximately 2,000 of these babies will die and many of the survivors will be left mentally and/or physically handicapped. Through education and prenatal screening you can protect your baby from a GBS infection. Safe and effective prevention is available from your doctor for mothers who test positive for GBS or who have a risk factor.

Did you know that Group B Strep (GBS) bacterial infections are the most common life threatening infections of newborn babies in the United States? Every day five to six babies will die from a Group B Strep infection. The incidence of GBS is twenty times greater than herpes, syphilis, or rubella. Group B Strep infections are more common than Down's Syndrome, neural tube defects, and PKU combined. Pregnant women are routinely screened for all these problems, but not for Group B Strep! Furthermore, almost 50,000 GBS infections occur annually in women during pregnancy or following labor. Yet, somehow GBS infections during pregnancy have remained unknown to the public.

This lack of public awareness is especially tragic, because the means already exist to prevent many of these devastating infections. Approximately 30% of all healthy women carry GBS bacteria. It is possible to test pregnant women, through a combined vaginal/rectal swab taken between the 35th - 37th week of pregnancy. In addition, some women will fall into high risk categories. Treating women who test positive in addition to those women who fall into other high risk categories with intravenous antibiotics during labor and delivery greatly reduces the chance of infection in newborns.

The following have been identified as RISK FACTORS for having an infected baby:

Positive Group B Strep culture

Premature labor

Premature rupture of the membranes

Prolonged rupture of the membranes before the baby is born (more than 12-18 hours)

Multiple births (twins, triplets)

If the mother has a fever before or during labor

If the mother has a history of GBS in previous pregnancies

GBS bacteria in the urine

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO CHANGE THIS SITUATION???

The Group B Strep Association (GBSA) is a non profit organization formed in 1990 by parents whose babies were victims of this infection. Today, the Association has members from all over the United States and Canada. These families are educating their communities about GBS through newspaper articles, TV programs, health fairs, and distribution of our educational pamphlets. We have been seen on Inside Edition, NBC Today, Good Morning America, Rescue 911, the HOME Show, public television, and many local news stations. Our parent volunteers share their stories - all in hopes of sparing other families this tragedy.

Our goal is to see that all pregnant women are routinely screened during pregnancy and offered treatment for Group B Step! By educating the public and the medical community about Group B Strep and by lobbying for new policies and procedures that will protect the lives of all newborns we can accomplish our goal of protecting babies from these horrible infections.

The hard work of the Group B Strep Association and its many volunteers has paid off. Our efforts have been instrumental in raising the level of awareness on this maternal/child health issue. Clearly, the Association's promotion of public and political awareness of GBS has been a critical missing element in the fight against this infectious killer of babies. The following are examples of some of our accomplishments:

GBSA is the national clearinghouse for public educational materials, for support, and for networking. An educational pamphlet has been written with the advice and review of our Medical Advisory Board, consisting of prominent physicians from around the country. We provide information to pregnant women, parents of GBS newborns, and medical personnel about Group B Strep.

Since launching the GBSA educational efforts, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have seen a dramatic increase in the number of requests for information about GBS.

In 1992 both ACOG and AAP published technical statements on GBS for their members. These statements have been significant in bringing this issue to the forefront of discussions in the medical community. This was the first time that either of these organizations had ever officially recognized GBS as a major health threat.

In 1991 and 1992 the National Institutes for Heath (NIH) awarded two grants for the study of Group B Strep and vaccine development. When GBSA was formed in 1990, NIH was not funding any major projects on GBS prevention.

In 1994 California legislation requiring representatives of the major medical establishments to develop standards for testing and treatment of GBS was passed. Similar legislation is currently pending in Florida and Michigan.

As a result of the California legislation, in March 1995, the first National Medical Consensus Conference was held. Medical experts and GBSA convened to produce a national standard for prevention.

WHY ARE BABIES STILL BECOMING INFECTED?

You might wonder why GBS infections are still happening with all the medical attention this issue has received since the founding of GBSA. Our work is far from over! The American College of OB/GYN does not endorse a routine screening of all pregnant women.

GBSA's educational efforts have been instrumental in bringing medical groups to discuss testing and treatment of GBS during pregnancy. During the summer of 1995, the DCD, AAP, and ACOG began developing new and aggressive protocols for neonatal Group B Streptococcus prevention. These new protocols were developed from the March 1995 GBS National Medical Consensus meeting. These protocols mark a major milestone in the history of GBSA and a huge step forward in the fight to protect our babies from this infection!

Even though new protocols for prevention and treatment are being developed, babies are still at risk. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is resisting efforts to pass a single protocol that will ensure aggressive prevention and routine screening for all pregnant women. Together we can make sure that our voices are heard. Every pregnant woman should be offered screening for GBS. A GBS culture result is a critical piece of information for both the obstetrician as well as the pediatrician or neonatologist! New prevention strategies have not yet been published so practitioners are unlikely to be aware of this new and aggressive protocol (as stated in the GBSA educational pamphlet).

How can you help?

Much has been accomplished since 1990, but much more remains to be done. We ask for your support so that together our voices may be heard. We need your financial and volunteer assistance to continue the momentum for change! This is a crusade of life versus death. The precious life of a baby must prevail. Our hope is that children of tomorrow will not experience the tragedy of Group B Strep infections.

Help by sending a donation for the Group B Step educational materials - it just might help your baby. We need your donations to help share this information with others. What is the life of a baby worth? Your donation of $25.00 will enable us to send educational pamphlets to 50 parents. A $15.00 donation entitles you to membership and our bi-annual newsletter and updates.

You can help by sharing our educational materials with your friends, your family, your health care professional. You are unlikely to find information on GBS in any prenatal textbook or doctor's office. Feel free to copy our materials; they are not copyrighted. We want this information to reach all pregnant women.

THE GROUP B STREP ASSOCIATION IS SAVING LIVES!

You can make a difference on this issue. We have accomplished so much because parents from around the country continue to speak out. If you are interested in becoming involved with the Group B Strep Association, by networking with other parents providing volunteer services, or financial support please contact the GBSA at:

Group B Strep Association 919/932-5344
P.O. Box 16515, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516

Your gift is more important than ever in the fight against Group B Strep infections!!

Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

You will receive a thank-you note from GBSA indicating the amount of your contribution and/or membership.

Sincerely,

Gina Burns, President and mother of a son born with Group B Strep who died at one week of age.

If You're Pregnant The Group B Strep Association (GBSA)