World Health Day 2025 | Prioritizing Maternal Health to Reduce Preventable Risks
April 7, 2025 is World Health Day. The World Health Organization has chosen the theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures” to spotlight the health and well-being of mothers and newborns around the world. Maternal and infant health is not only the foundation of family and societal well-being, but also the starting point of a hopeful future.
This theme underscores the importance of safeguarding maternal and neonatal safety. One of the key steps in achieving this goal is preventing serious infections during pregnancy. Among these risks, one often-overlooked but critical threat deserves our attention—Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection.
Why Is GBS Screening Important?
For many expectant mothers, GBS screening might be unfamiliar. GBS is a common bacterium; it's estimated that about 15% of pregnant women worldwide—nearly 20 million—carry GBS. While typically harmless to adults, GBS can be a deadly “invisible threat” to newborns, potentially causing pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. According to WHO, GBS infection causes around 150,000 infant deaths annually and leads to over 500,000 premature births globally. Clearly, GBS poses a serious threat to neonatal health.
GBS typically resides in the gastrointestinal or reproductive tracts of pregnant women. If the mother carries GBS, the bacteria may be transmitted to the baby during delivery—either through contact with the birth canal or by swallowing/inhaling amniotic fluid. Situations like preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes, or intra-amniotic infection can further increase this risk. Once infected, a newborn may develop symptoms within hours or days after birth, including difficulty breathing, fever, or poor feeding. In severe cases, the infection can be life-threatening. This makes early screening and prevention especially critical.
The good news is that GBS infections are preventable. The globally adopted strategy is to screen pregnant women during late pregnancy. If the test is positive, antibiotics are administered during labor to reduce the risk of transmission. For example, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that all women undergo GBS screening between 36–37 weeks of gestation. If GBS is detected, antibiotics are given during delivery to prevent neonatal disease. In 2024, WHO also released its first global guidelines on GBS, officially recommending late-term screening and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis for early-onset GBS disease in newborns. These guidelines demonstrate a broad consensus among international health authorities on the importance of GBS testing.
A simple GBS test during the third trimester helps mothers know if they carry the bacteria. If the result is positive, doctors can administer preventive antibiotics during labor, safeguarding the baby’s health. This screening significantly reduces the risk of serious neonatal infections.
Pluslife’s GBS Nucleic Acid Testing Solution
An Essential Tool for Perinatal Screening
To improve the speed and accuracy of GBS testing, Pluslife has developed a high-performance, cost-effective, and portable GBS nucleic acid detection solution. Compact yet powerful, the platform integrates advanced molecular diagnostics into a device no larger than a palm, enabling PCR-level accuracy directly at the point of care.
For expectant mothers, this makes GBS screening during prenatal checkups faster and more convenient. For healthcare providers, timely and accurate results mean they can take early preventive action—such as providing antibiotics to GBS-positive patients—to effectively reduce the risk of neonatal infection.
Technological advancements are transforming the way we manage maternal health. Rapid nucleic acid testing offers reliable protection for mothers and babies alike. Just as this year’s theme "Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures" highlights, every new life deserves a safe start. Prioritizing GBS screening is one key step in building a secure foundation for every family and embracing a future full of hope.
