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Approximately 1 in 4 pregnant women carry GBS, the leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). GBS can also infect babies during pregnancy and the first few months of life.

Not all babies exposed to GBS become infected, but, for those who do, the results can be devastating. GBS can cause babies to be miscarried, stillborn, born prematurely, become very sick, have lifelong handicaps, or die. Even babies born to mother who test negative can become infected by group B strep.

Fortunately there are many ways to help protect babies from group B strep. The website contains resources for you learn more about GBS and help prevent its devastating effects 

Check out our resources to help you get started!

Special thanks to Aayan's mother for sharing her son's voice making the grunting sounds which are a common, yet often unrecognized, sign of GBS meningitis

What We Do

  • Provide complimentary GBS awareness info and materials
  • Exhibit and present at conferences worldwide​​.
  • Advocate to close the gaps in GBS care for ALL babies​

What You Should Know

Each of the three distinct time periods when GBS can infect babies has its own prevention challenges and strategies.

How You Can Help 

There are many ways to help from sharing a brochure with a pregnant friend to organizing a trail ride fundraiser to starting an awareness campaign with your department of health!

GBSI's Upcoming Projects and Campaigns ​

Birthday & Angelversary events to promote GBS awareness
GBSI will be sharing the following presentations at the 2019 Stillbirth Summit! 
  • Does successful shared decision-making (SDM) obviate the need for signed consent prior to fetal membrane sweeping (FMS) to induce labor?
  • How does nonmedical (doula) supportive participation improve birthing outcomes? What about stillbirth and group B strep results?
  • Preconception care can reduce risk of stillbirth
  • Reducing Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Complicated Grief (CG) after Stillbirth (SB): a Logic Model-informed Research Agenda
  • Prompting parent prenatal infection prevention using the mnemonic “HYGIENE” 

​GBS Efforts and News around the World!

GBS Parent & Survivor Awareness Efforts
  • ​Sprinter Iwan Thomas: 'We almost lost our little boy to Strep B.' The happiest day of Olympic sprinter Iwan Thomas’s life quickly became the worst when his son Teddy was rushed to intensive care with breathing problems. Full video and article
  • Dan and Birgitta Hobster spoke on This Morning about GBS and ​how an £11 test could have saved their baby's life. Broadcast on 07/08/2018 Watch Here
  • Heather Bryan, who lost her son Finnegan to group B strep, is donating a portion of the sales of the beautiful leather bag she designed in his name to GBSI. Check out her website ​at http://www.bagswithacause.com/            
  • Soon after she lost Mena, Lynn, an artist, painted a picture of a rose in honor of her daughter. After Mena’s third birthday, she wanted to do something special. Lynn decided to take her original rose painting and turn it into a beautiful tote that she could sell to raise money for GBSI. To purchase one of these beautiful totes in honor of Mena, please visit Lynn's Etsy page HERE.
In the News
United States of American Senate committee hearing on vaccines.
 Mar 5, 2019 One of the panelists mentioned GBS vaccine efforts. For the full video click here.
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MINERVAX ANNOUNCES AWARD OF 4.4 MILLION EURO IN INVESTMENT FROM NOVO HOLDINGS REPAIR IMPACT FUND AND SUNSTONE CAPITAL FOR FURTHER CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPANY’S VACCINE AGAINST GROUP B STREPTOCOCCUS (GBS). January 21, 2019
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Serocorrelates of protection against infant group B streptococcus disease
January 22, 2019. A serocorrelate of protection against invasive disease in young infants is being considered to facilitate vaccine early licensure, followed by demonstration of efficacy assessed postlicensure.
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Epidemiology of Invasive Early-Onset and Late-Onset Group B Streptococcal Disease in the United States, 2006 to 2015
The rates of LOD among US infants are now higher than EOD rates. Combined with addressing IAP implementation gaps, an effective vaccine covering the most common serotypes might further reduce EOD rates and help prevent LOD, for which there is no current public health intervention. 
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Rates of Early-Onset Group B Strep Down Among U.S. Infants
Disease caused by early onset group B Streptococcus (GBS) has declined among infants, and rates of late-onset GBS disease are now higher than early onset disease among U.S. infants, researchers found. By Molly Walker, Staff Writer, MedPage Today January 14, 2019
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The Senate Select Committee on Stillbirth Research and Education tabled its final report on Tuesday, 4 December 2018
The committee's final report, together with submissions and Hansard transcripts of hearings, is available on the committee's website at:  www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Stillbirth_Research_and_Education/Stillbirth/Report
(GBSI's input is submission #269.) $7.2 million was allocated for stillbirth research and education!

GBSI's Newsletter: The Globe March 2019 

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Our past events and GBS news can be viewed in our Event & News Archive.
Please see all we’ve accomplished with your support!

​Donations
As a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, we rely on your donations to enable us to create and distribute GBS awareness materials. Please help save babies and their families from the devastation of GBS disease!