My son, Rahul, developed a Group B Strep infection 24 hours after birth. He became critically ill with septicemia and needed to be transferred to UCLH for specialist neonatal treatment. A lumber puncture confirmed that the infection had spread to his cerebral spinal fluid and he had bacterial meningitis. We lived in the hospital while Rahul received IV antibiotics and underwent daily blood tests. It was a very difficult and emotional time for us. We closely monitored the infection markers in the blood results at each ward round and they slowly declined. Miraculously, Rahul recovered, was feeding well and was discharged after 3 weeks. He is now 15 months old (pictured) and doing well - a happy chappy that is full of beans!

My son went from being born perfectly healthy (weight of 3.3kg and Apgar score of 9) to critically ill in one day - all because of the Group B Strep infection. Are you aware of what it is? We were not. The subject is not discussed by midwives or GPs with expectant mothers as a matter of course nor is it mentioned in the antenatal classes. We were distraught to find out that it is preventable and many other countries in Europe and the US already have the test for GBS built into the standard pregnancy checks. The UK is behind other developed countries in this regard and it is largely due to the NHS cost cutting areas it considers low risk. I am not a medical professional, but my opinion is that if you were made aware of GBS and the risks posed to newborns, you are likely to opt for a private test to fill the gap in the NHS screening and discuss the results with your GP. Withholding this information or not presenting it in a consistent way in this day and age is unacceptable.

Recent article on Group B Strep: http://dailym.ai/1WUjJx1

Call to action:

1. Short-term: Please sponsor me to help Group B Strep Support with their good work in raising awareness.

2. Medium-term: Please make expectant parents aware of the low-cost ECM private test available for GBS to complement existing NHS screening.

3. Long-term: Please sign the petition linked below to help make a long term preventative change for the UK: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/129980