A mother from Chinnor is calling for routine screening for Group B Strep during pregnancy after her daughter was born prematurely due to the infection.
Leona Hayes has launched a petition to Parliament urging the Government to make screening for Group B Strep (GBS) available to all pregnant women across the UK.
She says she only discovered she was carrying the bacteria by chance during a hospital visit for an unrelated issue while pregnant.
Her daughter, Olive, was born prematurely and both mother and baby spent 11 days in hospital. Leona says Olive still requires ongoing blood tests.
Speaking about her experience, Leona said: "Had I not been tested at that specific moment, the outcome could have been devastating. It was a lightbulb moment for me and made me realise how many families may be unaware of the risks until it is too late."
Group B Strep is a common type of bacteria that is often carried without symptoms. However, it can sometimes cause serious infections in newborn babies, including sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis.
Leona says the UK currently relies on a risk-based approach to identifying women who may need treatment during labour, rather than offering routine screening to all pregnant women.
Her campaign is calling for the introduction of a simple swab test between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy. If a woman tests positive, antibiotics can be offered during labour to help reduce the risk of infection being passed to the baby.
Leona believes routine screening could help prevent serious illness in newborns and give expectant parents greater awareness of the condition.
She is now encouraging people to support her petition and help raise awareness of Group B Strep among families across Buckinghamshire and the wider UK. You can sign the petition here https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/768997 (external site).
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