NEW & IMPROVED! Strepelle now uses PCR (the same technology used to test for COVID) to analyse the results of your sample, ensuring faster & more accurate results!
Are you at risk of infecting your baby? Strep B symptoms cancause serious complications – test to be sure
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a bacterium found in the gut in around 20-30% of people. It is harmless under normal circumstances, but having Strep B in pregnancy can cause serious complications for your baby. Around one in four pregnant women have Strep B; if you are pregnant it will not harm you but when you give birth it can be passed to your baby. This happens in around 1 in every 2000 births in the UK, with one baby a day developing the infection.
When a baby has early onset GBS disease it may have the following symptoms:
- Floppy and unresponsive
- Poor feeding
- Grunting
- Unusually high or low temperature
- Fast or slow heart rate
- Fast or slow breathing rate with increased risk of the need for resuscitation
- Irritability
- Low blood sugar
A third of GBS infections are late onset, leading to conditions like meningitis, sepsis, septic arthritis (joint infections) and osteomyelitis (bone infections). 1 in 10 of these cases ends in death, with 1 in 5 affected permanently by conditions like physical or mental disabilities, deafness, blindness and lung damage. There is a particular risk of this happening if your baby is born prematurely.
The NHS doesn’t routinely test for GBS
The NHS has decided that GBS should only be tested for in women who have risk factors such as high temperatures during labour. When a GBS infection is known about beforehand the risk to the baby can be significantly reduced by administering IV antibiotics during delivery. If you are concerned about your risk of having GBS and transmitting it to your baby you can now test yourself at home with Strepelle. This easy to use GBS test allows you to make an informed decision about your baby’s delivery. The reassurance that Strepelle will give you is invaluable at a time when there is so much to worry about!
Carrying out your Strepelle test
- You should do the test from 35 weeks of pregnancy onwards
- There are two swabs – one vaginal, one rectal
- Rotate the first swab gently in your vagina for 5-10 seconds then seal it in the tube
- Insert the second swab 1-2 cm into your anus for 3-5 seconds then seal in its tube
- Attach the unique reference number stickers to each tube
- Fill in the test order form then post it with your samples in the freepost envelope
- You will receive your results under 7 working days via text, email or post
If your result is positive, see your doctor to arrange for special treatment during labour. This just involves receiving antibiotics via an IV drip while you are giving birth.