National trial to reduce risks and prevent neonatal deaths against Group B Streptococcus (GBS) found in expectant mothers
We are proud to be one of the 65 NHS Trusts across the UK, involved in the National Institute of Health and Care Research’s initiative, set to reduce the risk of expectant mother’s passing on Group B Streptococcus (GBS) to their newborn infants.
A vaginal or rectal swab will now be offered to pregnant women at around 36 weeks in their pregnancy so that they can begin to make the decisions to be treated for GBS if they test positive, to reduce risks for their unborn baby. The trial’s aim is to determine the best way of screening and treating women to prevent GBS in babies. This will then determine future GBS policy within the NHS for the next 15-20 years.
GBS is a bacterial infection common in both men and women, affecting up to 2 to 4 women in 10. In most cases the infection is harmless but can be fatal for newborns if pregnant women remain untreated with intravenous antibiotics in labour. Even though this only becomes harmful in 1 in 1,750 pregnancies, it is important for our hospital to reduce the risk of an occurrence of GBS in pregnant women so that a baby’s development and health is not stunted.
The GBS3 Trial will provide educational materials alongside testing swabs to parents, to provide them with a greater understanding of the risks around GBS and how this can negatively impact the development and health of their babies. The information will provide education from the Royal College of Gynaecology and the Group B Strep Support which endorses the GBS3 trial. It is important not to test too early so that an accurate result is obtained and women can be offered treatment if positive in labour.
Principal Investigator for the GBS3 trial, Phern Adams from our Women’s Hospital said: “GBS is a common infection however it has the potential to cause serious complications in the newborn. As most early onset GBS infections are preventable, it’s really exciting that our Women’s Hospital are able to offer our women this form of testing that they would not receive at other local trusts currently.
“By offering the information at 28 weeks, all women under our Women’s Hospital services, receiving antenatal care and delivering at our hospital will be given the essential knowledge in advance by their clinical care team so that they have time to make their decision for treatment. This will also streamline the process of GBS testing for our clinical colleagues and ensure all women are offered time to consider testing, at approximately 36 weeks.”
Chloe O’Hara, our Lead Research Midwife added: “We are very excited to be participating in this important trial, and that we can now offer GBS testing to all women and treatment if required. We are hoping that the trial data can then determine our future practice and how best to prevent GBS infection in babies.”
Not only will GBS3 empower our patients through education and allow our colleagues to deliver seamless service in distributing the information, the project extends into IGBS3.
IGBS3 is a separate trial supporting the development of a vaccine to prevent GBS for future expectant mothers. We will request permission from our mothers during labour to obtain a small cord blood sample, and freeze for 3-6 months. We have approximately six cases per year of IGBS detected in infants up to six months old at the Women’s Hospital, each of these six cases will then be paired up with the cord blood sample taken at birth.