Our new survey* reveals that nine in ten new or expectant mums believe testing for group B Strep should be routinely available on the NHS.
Group B Strep testing is usually only offered on the NHS to pregnant women and pregnant people who tested positive in a previous pregnancy where their baby did not develop the infection. However, even this isn’t available from all NHS hospitals.
Over eight in ten UK mums said they’d want to be tested for group B Strep on the NHS but of those, seven in ten said they weren’t aware or hadn’t been told about the option of private testing.
Group B Strep is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies, causing serious infections including sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis. In the UK, on average:
- two babies a day develop group B Strep infection
- one baby a week dies from group B Strep infection and
- one baby a week recovers from their group B Strep infection with a life-changing disability
However, most of these infections could be prevented with early diagnosis and treatment.
The NHS currently takes a risk-factor based approach to preventing group B Strep infection in newborn babies, offering preventative antibiotics in labour only to pregnant women and people if they have known risk factors. The UK is behind most high-income countries that routinely offer antenatal testing to all pregnant women and people, including the United States, Canada, Germany, France and Spain.
The new survey data indicates that routine antenatal testing would be a welcome development – more than eight in ten mums who had not been tested for group B Strep in pregnancy said they would take a free test.
This dropped to over two in ten (26%) who would willing to take a private test for £50, with over nine in ten (93%) saying it was important that pregnant women and people are told about this option.
A simple swab test for group B Strep has been available privately for 20 years but is still not routinely available on the NHS. The test would cost the NHS around £15, while home-test packs are available privately from around £50.
The new survey, which we commissioned to mark July’s Group B Strep Awareness Monthe 2024, secured responses from over 1000 new or expectant mothers in the UK.
It also identified:
- More than nine in ten new and expectant mums support the introduction of national testing for group B Strep during pregnancy
- Almost all (98%) think it’s very important that all pregnant women and pregnant people are informed of group B Strep by their midwife or doctor
- Almost seven in ten (68%) wanted more information about group B Strep
- Seven in ten (71%) said they weren’t aware or hadn’t been told about the option of private testing for group B Strep
The data underscores the continued importance of raising awareness of group B Strep, with over six in ten respondents saying they were not confident in identifying signs of group B Strep infection in their baby. More than seven in ten did not know that group B Strep can cause meningitis or sepsis – which are both common presentations of group B Strep infection in babies.
Jane Plumb, Chief Executive of Group B Strep Support, said:
“The overwhelming consensus among new and expectant mothers for routine NHS testing for group B Strep in pregnancy highlights a critical gap in our current healthcare system. But, while over 80% of expectant mothers want to be tested, a significant majority are uninformed about their options.
We at Group B Strep Support are calling for group B Strep to be made a notifiable disease so robust national data can provide a full picture of the burden these infections cause, and we ask that national policymakers are open to new evidence when the GBS3 trial reports in 2025.
Group B Strep isn’t just a statistic; it’s the leading cause of severe infection in our newborns, and the lack of accessible testing is a preventable tragedy.”
Group B Strep Support eLearning module
To provide midwives, doctors and other health professionals working in maternity and neo-natal care with education and training, Group B Strep Support has created a new free eLearning module on group B Strep. It offers evidence-based education on group B Strep to enhance the care of pregnant women and people, and their babies, and ultimately will help save lives.
The module will ensure health professionals are fully supported to inform expectant and new parents about prevention, testing that may be available and key signs of infection.
The GBS3 trial, a large trial comparing the UK’s prevention strategy with testing strategies, will report its findings in 2025 and will provide new data on the effectiveness of test-based approaches to preventing group B Strep infection in newborn babies.
*The survey was commissioned by Group B Strep Support and conducted by Savanta in June 2024. The 1000+ respondents were either currently pregnant or had given birth to a child who was between 0 and 2 years old at the time of the survey. The answers were segmented by demographics of respondents, by number of children; age; region; ethnicity; income; sexuality; level of education; and employment status.
