STREP B AWARENESS MONTH

That this House notes that this is Strep B Awareness Month; further notes that group B streptococcus is the most common cause of serious infection in newborn babies in the UK and is a leading cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis; highlights that on average two babies each day in the UK develop a group B strep infection and that each week one baby dies from a group B strep infection and another is left with a life-changing disability; further highlights that the UK does not routinely test pregnant women for group B strep, unlike the US, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and many other developed countries where all mothers-to-be are tested; and encourages the Department of Health and Social Care to consider introducing a standard test throughout the UK for pregnant women between 35 and 37 weeks' gestation.