VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4
SUMMER 2007

Welcome to the Summer newsletter from GBSI, a non-profit organization committed to promoting GBS awareness worldwide (en español).

GBSI Recognized as a Tax-Exempt Organization!

GBSI is now recognized as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States of America!  Your donation to GBSI will help in the fight against GBS disease in babies!

GBSI’s Web Site Now Also in Spanish!

Thanks to a generous sponsorship from Dr. James C. Caillouette our web site is now available in both English and in Spanish!

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Our GBS Awareness Flyer Now Available in French!

Thanks to Patricia Normand, founder of the Canadian Strep B Foundation, our downloadable flyer is now available in French.  Please click here to view or download this flyer, designed for medical office bulletin boards and as a convenient guide for pregnant women once they have learned they are GBS positive.

For more GBS information in French, please visit The Canadian Strep B Foundation/La Fondation Canadienne du Strep B. The content of their entire web site is available in both French and English.

New CDC Report on GBS

The CDC has just issued a new report: Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease After Universal Screening Recommendations; United States, 2003-2005. The incidence among white infants has steadily decreased during 2003 to 2005. However, the incidence has increased 70% among black infants.

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Listserve for Chronic GBS Now Available

Chronicgbs is an independent listserve organized to provide resources and support for both pregnant and non-pregnant women affected by chronic GBS vaginitis.  GBS vaginitis is not widely recognized by health care providers yet GBS can cause vaginal burning/irritation and unusual discharge. GBSI has added chronicgbs.com to our ever-growing list of GBS support resources.

Southern CA Residents: Help Fund GBSI When You Shop for Groceries!

Southern California residents, when you do your grocery shopping at Ralphs, Ralphs will donate a portion of your purchases to help fund GBSI! It’s quick and easy:

1. Register online at www.ralphs.com, click on community contributions, then click on participants. 
2. Have your Ralphs Club Card(s) available and register your card(s) with Group B Strep International (NPO# 84800) by following the easy online directions. If you do not have a Ralphs Club Card, they are available at the customer service desk at any Ralphs.  If you use your phone number at the register, call 800-660-9003 to get your Club Card number.
3. Swipe your registered Ralphs Club Card when shopping — each swiped purchase will aid in the fight against GBS disease in babies!

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Join Our International GBS Awareness Campaign

You can help in our campaign to promote GBS awareness and prevention. Parents, friends, and healthcare professionals are needed to deliver our message about GBS. Here are just a few ways you can help:

Parents ~ Grandparents ~ Friends

• Share your GBS story on our website
• Distribute GBSI’s brochure in your community
• Call the health editor of your local newspaper to do an article on GBS
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper
• Wear GBS awareness ribbons (order here)
• Check our online shop for great GBS awareness items including postage stamps, buttons, magnets, and more
• Make GBS awareness ribbons (instructions here)
• Provide awareness materials for your health professionals
• Request awareness month recognition and GBS information on pregnancy boards
• Forward GBS news articles to GBSI
• Help GBSI raise funds to prevent GBS disease in babies around the world!

Fluent in languages other than English?

Help GBSI to translate our written materials and communications into other languages.

Healthcare Professionals

• NEW! Download GBSI's PowerPoint slideshow for medical professionals for your next presentation!
• Give GBSI’s brochure to your patients at their first prenatal visit
• Give GBSI’s tear sheet to your patients when they test GBS-positive
• Wear GBS awareness ribbons (order here)
• Wear “I test for GBS” stickers or buttons, especially in countries without universal screening (order here)
• Request awareness month recognition and GBS information in your workplace and on medical websites
• Forward GBS medical articles to GBSI

Please join our awareness campaign to help prevent Group B Strep disease in babies!

About Group B Strep International

Our mission is to promote international awareness and prevention of Group B Strep disease in babies before birth through early infancy.

Our goal is to be a central resource for GBS information in a variety of languages for both the general public and medical professionals.  The scope of our mission includes actively supporting the GBS awareness and prevention efforts of individuals and organizations on a community or national level.

Group B Strep International (GBSI) was formed in April 2006 by John MacDonald and Marti Perhach who each lost a daughter to Group B strep (GBS). Both John and Pam MacDonald’s daughter, Hannah, and Chris and Marti Perhach’s daughter, Rose, were stillborn full-term.

John and Marti each began to promote GBS awareness and prevention on a national level throughout the United States. Group B Strep International has been founded to expand the scope and the audience of this campaign.

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