Each July, families, health professionals, and campaigners across the UK come together to raise awareness of group B Strep – a common yet often misunderstood bacterium that can have life-threatening consequences for newborns. Group B Strep Support Awareness Month is a time to educate, empower, and advocate for better testing, treatment, and understanding of this preventable infection. In 2025, the campaign is more urgent than ever, as families continue to push for policy change and greater public awareness.
What is Group B Strep Support Awareness Month?
This awareness month, led by the UK charity Group B Strep Support (GBSS), shines a spotlight on group B Streptococcus (GBS) – the most common cause of severe infection in newborns in the UK. It aims to educate expectant parents and health professionals about how GBS is carried, how it can be transmitted during childbirth, and what steps can be taken to reduce the risk.
Awareness Month also honours the families affected by GBS and highlights the stories of those who’ve experienced loss or trauma due to late diagnosis or missed opportunities for prevention.
When is Group B Strep Support Awareness Month 2025?
Group B Strep Support Awareness Month takes place throughout the month of July 2025. It is observed annually across the UK and supported by hospitals, midwives, campaigners, and community groups. Events and campaigns run all month long, including webinars, fundraising efforts, personal story sharing, and calls for action.
Why Group B Strep Support Awareness Month Matters
Group B Strep is carried by around 1 in 4 adults, usually harmlessly. But during childbirth, it can be passed to babies – and in rare cases, lead to serious complications like sepsis, pneumonia, or meningitis. On average, two babies a day in the UK develop group B Strep infection. One baby a week dies, and another is left with life-changing disability.
What makes this especially heartbreaking is that most group B Strep infections are preventable. With better awareness, routine testing, and timely antibiotics during labour, the risk can be significantly reduced. This month helps put that life-saving information into more hands – especially among new and expectant parents.
How to Get Involved in Group B Strep Support Awareness Month
Whether you’re a parent, health worker, or supporter, there are powerful ways to make a difference:
- Learn the Facts: Visit the GBSS website to understand what group B Strep is and how it’s prevented.
- Share Your Story: If you’ve been affected by group B Strep, your experience could help raise awareness and save lives.
- Raise Funds: Organise a sponsored walk, bake sale, or community event to support GBSS’s campaigning and support work.
- Campaign for Change: Contact your MP to support routine testing for GBS during pregnancy, or sign the latest petition.
- Use Your Platform: Share GBSS content, infographics, or personal messages using the campaign hashtags.
History of Group B Strep Support Awareness Month
The awareness month is organised by Group B Strep Support, founded in 1996 by Jane Plumb MBE and Robert Plumb MBE after their son Theo died from GBS infection shortly after birth. Since then, GBSS has grown into the UK’s leading voice for group B Strep awareness, working closely with health professionals, researchers, and families to improve information and change policy.
GBSS Awareness Month was established to give greater visibility to the cause, push for wider testing availability, and unite people in sharing knowledge and support each July.
Noteworthy Facts About Group B Strep
- Group B Strep is the most common cause of severe infection in newborn babies in the UK.
- Routine testing is standard in countries like the US, Canada, and Germany – but not yet in the UK.
- A simple ECM (enriched culture medium) test at 35–37 weeks of pregnancy can identify carriers with over 90% accuracy.
- Most babies exposed to GBS are born healthy, but a small number develop serious infection, often within hours of birth.
- GBSS provides free information booklets to hospitals, clinics, and families across the UK.
Hashtags
#GBSAwarenessMonth, #GBS2025, #GroupBStrep, #TestForGBS
Links
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