Streptococcus: Babies

Health written question – answered at on 10 March 2010.

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Photo of Anne Milton Anne Milton Shadow Minister (Health)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health

(1) what steps are being taken by his Department to increase levels of compliance with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' guidelines on preventing group B streptococcal infection in newborn babies;

(2) what guidelines his Department provides on preventing group B streptococcal infection in newborn babies.

Photo of Ann Keen Ann Keen Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health

Current guidance for obstetricians, midwives and neonatologists is provided by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, (RCOG) which published its Green-top guideline No. 36 on the prevention of early-onset neonatal group B streptococcus disease in November 2003. In 2005, the RCOG, in collaboration with the National Screening Committee, established a national audit to evaluate practice in United Kingdom obstetric units against the recommendations of the guideline. The audit published in January 2007, reported that current practice followed the established patterns of care described in the RCOG guideline.

The Department supports the Maternity Standards published by the RCOG in 2008, which state that maternity services should comply with evidence-based guidelines for the provision of high-quality clinical care.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guidelines for routine antenatal care, published in 2008, recommends that pregnant women should not be offered routine antenatal screening for group B streptococcus because evidence of its clinical and cost effectiveness remains uncertain.

Information for women on Group B streptococcus is contained in "the Pregnancy book"-a guide to health pregnancy, labour and giving birth, life with your new baby, which is given to all pregnant women during their antenatal care. A copy has already been placed in the Library. Information is also available on NHS Direct and NHS Choices website. Women who are concerned are advised to talk to their doctor or midwife.

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Annotations

melanie peters
Posted on 14 Mar 2010 5:15 pm (Report this annotation)

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is wrong my freinds baby died of strep b and if she was give the test he would still be alive and she would not have had to have gone thru this expensive compared to a babys life ? you cant put a price on that

Ann Mitchell
Posted on 12 Apr 2010 8:13 pm (Report this annotation)

It is unfortunate that The Pregnancy Book has no information about late onset Group B Strep (GBS). Also not all pregnant women receive this book, I know of at least 2 cases where women were not given a copy.

There is also no mention of either early or late onset GBS in the Birth to Five publication. It would be very helpful to have more information in both publications. Not everyone has access to the internet either.

GBS is something that if you don't know what you are looking for you, and you are not advised about it, you would never know it exists until it is too late.