Chinnor mum and teacher takes campaign for safer maternity care directly to the Government

Chinnor resident Leona Hayes has taken her campaign for safer maternity care directly to the seat of government, hand-delivering her national Parliamentary petition (#768997) to 10 Downing Street.

Accompanied by her local Member of Parliament, Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame), Ms. Hayes handed over the petition alongside a compelling cover letter urging decision-makers to mandate routine Group B Streptococcus (GBS) screening for all pregnant women across the UK.

Group B Strep is the leading cause of severe infection, sepsis, and meningitis in newborn babies in the UK. While routine, low-cost swab testing between 35 and 37 weeks of pregnancy is standard practice in many developed nations including the United States, Canada, Germany, and France the UK’s NHS currently relies on risk-factor-based assessments. This approach leaves thousands of expectant mothers unaware of their status and leaves vulnerable newborns at risk of preventable, life-threatening illness.

In her letter accompanying the petition, Ms. Hayes emphasized that routine testing is a straightforward, cost-effective intervention that saves lives, saves families from preventable heartbreak, and reduces the long-term strain on NHS neonatal intensive care resources.

"We are failing expectant mothers by withholding routine, accessible screening for a bacterial infection that can easily be identified and safely managed with targeted antibiotics during labor," said Ms. Hayes. "Handing this petition in at 10 Downing Street is a major milestone, but the real goal is securing a policy change so that every parent is given the information and routine testing necessary to keep their baby safe."

Freddie van Mierlo MP supported the drop-off at Westminster, praising the dedicated constituency campaigning that brought the issue to the national stage. The campaign has gathered widespread public support, featuring on local news bulletins and driving thousands of signatures from concerned parents, healthcare professionals, and supporters across the country.

With the petition now formally delivered to the Prime Minister’s official residence, Ms. Hayes and supporters are calling on the Department of Health and Social Care to review the UK’s current screening guidelines and align NHS maternity standards with international best practices.