Do you know what Group B Strep (GBS) is? Admittedly, I had heard of it before – however I didn’t know anything about it. That was until I was offered to test and review Strepelle earlier on in my pregnancy. After a quick search on Group B Strep, I immediately said yes, as I didn’t want to risk leaving it undetected and passing it onto my unborn baby.
WHAT IS GROUP B STREP?
Taken from the Strepelle website: “Group B Streptococcus, also known as Group B Strep and GBS, is a common natural bacterium which is a gut flora found in 20-30% of men and women. It’s estimated that around one in four pregnant women in the UK carry GBS. Although it is rarely harmful to the mother it can pass to the baby. This could cause serious complications that can lead to conditions such as sepsis and meningitis that can be life threatening for the baby. GBS is also known to be a rare cause of uterine infection, urinary tract infection, preterm delivery, still births, maternal infections and late miscarriages.” Thankfully, if detected, GBS can usually be treated with antibiotics. However, it is not routinely tested for in the UK on the NHS – so this is where the Strepelle kit comes in.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
The box contains instructions, two sealed swabs & tubes, a pre-paid bag with address attached to send back your samples and a form to complete with your details.
TESTING WITH STREPELLE
Strepelle is a home laboratory kit, which is specifically designed to test for Group B Strep. It is highly sensitive and is recommended to test from 35 weeks. This will give a high prediction whether or not GBS will be present at birth. The kit is very straightforward – you take one vaginal swab and one rectal swab, pop them in the tube (with your unique reference number sticker attached to each sample), fill in the form and send everything off in the envelope provided. You then wait up to 7 days for your result. You can choose to be notified by email, text or letter (or all three if you wish).
RESULTS
It is recommended you take the test between Monday – Thursday, to prevent the samples deteriorating by being stuck in the postage system over the weekend. With this in mind, I took my swabs on the Monday and sent them off the same day. An email with the result arrived on Friday, the same week. My result was thankfully negative, but either way I’m glad I know the result. Had it been positive, I would have been able to tell my midwife/doctor the result and antibiotics would be administered when I go into labour to prevent passing it on to my baby during birth.
RECOMMENDATION
If you’re currently pregnant and wondering whether to test for Group B Strep, I would definitely recommend the Strepelle test. I found it convenient to use at home, the results of the test arrived the same week. I would happily pay for the test myself for peace of mind. The test retails at £39.99 and can be purchased directly from their website, certain pharmacies or Amazon.
Disclosure – we were very kindly sent the item above for the purpose of this review. However, opinions are my own and 100% honest. Ths post also contains an affiliate link.
Didn't know you can test this beforehand. I went into the hospital on my second when my waters were leaking. As they had to do a few tests that's when they found out I had strep b. Antibiotics were brought through the drip during labour.
I'm so surprised that this test isn't mandatory for all mothers.
My sister had strep B which they found out when her waters were leaking and they gave antibiotics before she had her baby prematurely. I really think this test should be mandatory for all pregnant women. If I ever have another baby I plan on testing at home or privately.