Mum of 3 counts steps to raise money for Group B Strep
This month is group B strep awareness month and this cause is a little closer to my heart than most as my good childhood friend’s daughter came very close to this potentially fatal infection.
Lynsey and I go waaay back, our mums became friends in their teens after taking summer jobs on the Isle of Mull and settling down with some local men (my dad and hers). We went to nursery, primary, high school and even living in the same halls of residence during our college years. We have seen and done a lot together, shhhh that means she has many secrets and I HAVE to be friends with her, ha!
Lynsey is a wonderful mum of 3, we were even pregnant together with her second and my first but it was when she was 18 weeks pregnant with her 3rd child she was told she had Group B Streptococcus which can cause a range of deadly infections in her baby.
Photo provided by Daily Record
What is group B strep?
GBS is a bacterium carried by many adults, commonly in the gut or in the vagina. ‘Carriage’ is not an infection or illness, rarely causes any symptoms, and does not need to be treated. Carriage should therefore be regarded as ‘normal’.
It can cause infection in newborn babies when the bacteria are transmitted to the baby around labour (in very rare cases, it can also cause infection in adults whose immune system is depressed, either through old age, other illnesses, or medical therapy).
Pregnant women can take a simple, safe test for group B Strep between 35 and 37 weeks.
The most effective test for group B strep is an enriched culture medium test (ECM test) and is available from several home testing services and private clinics (see www.gbss.org.uk/test).
Although at present the NHS does not routinely test all pregnant women for group B Strep carriage, in late 2017 the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists updated their guidance and recommended that women who tested positive in their previous pregnancy should be offered testing specifically for GBS, using the ECM test, in their next pregnancy. As a result, the ECM test is increasingly becoming available in NHS hospitals
The thing is though, Lynsey only found out she had it after some complications occurred during early pregnancy.
Lynsey told the Daily Record
“I had complications in the middle of my pregnancy and I had to go to the Royal Infirmary where they took swabs and things as I had a wee bleed.
“They never said what they were testing for specifically. It came back a few weeks later that I had it.
“They gave me a lot of advice and because they knew that I had it, I was given antibiotics in labour.
“As a precaution Ella was given antibiotics herself until her infection markers in her blood came back negative.
“She still needed a little help breathing but thankfully after a week we came home and she is absolutely thriving now.”
Antibiotics were offered to Lynsey and her new little bundle so not to catch the Step B infection, you have no idea how lucky that was as lots of women give birth in the UK every month not knowing the have it and they then pass it on to their baby. The UK does not routinely offer antenatal testing for group B Strep, unlike most high-income countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, France and Spain.
She is taking part in the charity’s Steps Against Strep campaign which sees people walk 62,000 steps in the first two weeks of this month.
You can donate here to help Lynsey with her campaign ---- HERE
A sponsored challenge, the 62,000 steps represent the 62 babies who are expected to be born with Strep B this month in the UK.
“Group B Strep causes life-threatening infection in new-born babies, and I’m really proud to be taking part in this event and supporting the charity,” Lynsey said,
“I would never have found out I had Strep B, had I not been in hospital for other reasons.
“I had two boys already, those pregnancies were fine, so I wasn’t expecting my third to have any complications and I was otherwise fit and healthy.
“Thankfully Ella didn’t contract the infection at all.”
On average, two babies each day in the UK develop a GBS infection and each week one baby dies from a GBS infection and another is left with a life-changing disability.
The Steps for Strep fundraiser aims to raise as much cash as possible to allow the charity to continue supporting those children and their families. Lynsey, who lives in the Glasgow area with her husband Gary and Ella’s siblings Stuart, nine, and five-year-old Alistair, has pledged to walk double the required 62,000 steps to encourage sponsors to donate generously. Also key to the campaign is raising awareness of Strep B and the tests available, Lynsey said.
She, together with friends and family members, knew little about the potentially catastrophic effects of the infection until she was diagnosed and she hopes her challenges will raise awareness in Rutherglen and Cambuslang.
Jane Plumb MBE, chief executive and founder of Group B Strep Support said: “We’re so grateful to Lynsey for her support and wish her the very best with her Steps against Strep fundraising challenge.
“She’s raising vital funds to support the charity’s work and making her local community aware of group B Strep.
“Too many people don’t know about Group B Strep, yet it’s the most common cause of serious infection in newborn babies in the UK.
“On average, two babies a day develop Group B Strep infection, and 62 babies will do so during July.
“With the support of people like Lynsey we can work to stop this and make sure new and expectant parents have the information they need to protect their baby.”
Information
· Group B Strep Support is a national charity, working to stop GBS infection in babies.
· Set up in 1996 by Jane Plumb after her newborn son, Theo, died from GBS infection aged 17 hours. We work with families affected by GBS and campaign for a proper testing regime to be introduced in the UK.
www.gbss.org.uk: offers information about GBS infections, testing and treatment. All information is approved by an expert medical advisory panel.
Helpline: provides one to one support and information. Call 01444 416 176 or email info@gbss.org.uk.
Community support: where families share experiences and support others, including a Facebook community of over 35,000 people.
Campaigns: to stop GBS infection in babies through the introduction of a proper testing regime in the UK
Awareness and education: working alongside health professionals to improve awareness and knowledge about group B Strep among new and expectant parents and their health professionals.
Aw wow- so glad it all worked out 😘
Thank you for raising awareness of Group B Strep. Both me and Jasper managed to get the infection when he was born and were really ill with it but luckily for us it was picked up quickly and we were started on antibiotics. I know it's not always picked up so quickly x
I had no idea about it until my friend told me, I can’t believe it’s a simple test but it’s ignored x
What a great cause to raise money for. My friends daughter contracted strep b and was extremely ill. She’s fine now though. It’s horrible to watch babies go through illnesses