Southampton mum whose son nearly died after developing Strep B calls for routine tests
Laura Page's son Leo became seriously unwell at just three weeks old
Last updated 21st Oct 2026
A Southampton mother whose son nearly lost his life after developing Strep B says it's "unfathomable" there isn't routine testing for the bacteria.
Laura Page's son Leo became seriously unwell at just three weeks old and was described as having 'catastrophic brain damage' as a result of meningitis.
Laura told us about the night she and her partner, Matt, took Leo to hospital.
She said: "Obviously, it does present in other babies differently, not just exactly what happened to Leo, but no one tells you about those things or what to look out for and to go straight to A and E.
"I think one of the scariest thoughts that Matt and I had was that night after the ambulance left, we had the conversation of 'shall we put him to bed and we'll take him in the morning?'.
"I remember, that's why we gave him a bath.
"So we thought, we'll put him in his pyjamas, we'll put him to bed, and then obviously in the morning we'll take him to A and E, and if we had done that, he wouldn't be here now.
"I think that's one of the scariest thoughts that we had throughout this."
They were told Leo's life would be very different, leaving him unable to do any of the things that a normal baby or toddler would be able to do.
Laura said: "It was like living someone else's nightmare knowing that you produce this baby for nine months, giving birth, and he was three weeks old, so just lying there really helpless."
She's telling us it's terrifying that pregnant women aren't made aware of the signs.
Laura added: "It's just really hard to comprehend how people don't speak about Strep B.
"It's not something you're told to look out for.
"It's not routinely tested for.
"There's no awareness anywhere of what Strep B is, and I just think it's crazy how it's not something that's spoken about more, something that nearly took our baby's life.
"That's the real scary thing, that there is something out there that nearly took our child, and we had no idea what it was."
Leo's now developing well, meeting all of his milestones, sitting up, eating by himself, and learning to crawl.
Laura described him as a "miracle baby".
Her calls for routine testing and more awareness come as the University Hospital Southampton trial a vaccine aimed at tackling the GBS bacteria.
Vaccine trial in Southampton
A new vaccine is being trialled in Southampton to tackle Strep B as it affects more than a thousand babies every year.
The University Hospital Southampton's one of 10 sites across the UK to be trialling it in a global study, to protect women and babies from a GBS infection which can be life-threatening to newborns.
Chrissie Jones is a Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunity at UHS.
She said: "It can cause everything through from prematurity and still birth right through to serious infections such as sepsis and meningitis.
"We're joining the effort to test this vaccine to make sure that it is both safe and effective against this serious infection.
"This is one of the most common causes of sepsis and meningitis in the UK but also globally."
Around one in every 1,750 babies in the UK and Ireland develops GBS each year.
In the UK, around 50 babies die as a result of the infection annually, approximately one each week.
A further 70 babies survive with long-term disabilities such as hearing loss, vision problems, cerebral palsy or developmental difficulties.
Laura told us her thoughts on the study.
She said: "The fact that this trial could now save thousands of mums, families and babies from going through what we did is just incredible."