• 80% of GBS infections could be prevented
• 3 out of 10 adults carry GBS
• £32 buys a reliable test for GBS
• 0.5% of pregnant women in the UK are tested for GBS
• 9 out of 10 pregnant women in the UK have never heard of GBS (according to a survey carried out in September 2006 by Pregnancy & Birth magazine).

Without preventative medicine

• 700 babies develop GBS infections each year in the UK
• 75 babies die from GBS infections each year in the UK
• 40 surviving babies are left with long-term physical and/or mental disabilities
• 1 in 300 babies born to mothers carrying GBS at delivery becomes infected
• 1 in 1,000 babies born in the UK will develop a GBS infection

More help and advice

- Contact Group B Strep support or call 01444 416176 for more information on GBS and testing in pregnancy
- Twenty ways to have an easier labour
- Tests during pregnancy: what should you have?

By Rob Mansfield

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