Rising numbers of women are dying during pregnancy or soon after childbirth from a seemingly harmless bug, a report warns.
Death rates from the Group A streptococcal infection, which usually just causes a sore throat, have risen by nearly a third since 2005.
Doctors say that deaths could have been prevented if the bug had been diagnosed by medical staff in time and treated with antibiotics.
The Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) found that 29 women died from the infection between 2006 and 2008, up from 21 between 2003 and 2005 and 13 from 2000 to 2002.
But pregnant women or those who have just given birth are particularly vulnerable to a severe form, which can be fatal.
The report says that GPs, midwives and nurses are missing the initial symptoms of the deadly bug.
In one case, a pregnant woman called an out-of-hours GP complaining of a sore throat and fever, and was told she had a viral infection.
Hours later, she was admitted to hospital with breathing problems. Despite being put on a life support machine, she died shortly after.
The report also warns that women often do not realise they are critically ill and so do not bother to seek help.
It states: ‘Some women and their families did not realise how ill they were, or they did not disclose or trivialised significant symptoms that might have allowed earlier intervention.’
It adds that ‘some healthcare workers did not appreciate the signs and symptoms or severity of the illness’. The bug can be spread from close contact with children and transferred from the throat or nose via a woman’s hands to other parts of her body, which can cause infection.
All those who died from the infection had young children or worked with them.
Several of the mothers, or their family members, had a recent history of sore throats or respiratory infections.
Dr Imogen Stephens, clinical director at CMACE, said: ‘It’s shocking that something like infection – and infection from a reasonably well-known organism – is a major cause of maternal mortality.’
She added: ‘While pregnancy is a lovely time, it’s not without risk. Pregnant women and their families need to be more aware and wash their hands.
‘When you’ve been among a large number of people, such as on public transport, you don’t need to be paranoid, but you should wash your hands when you get to work and when you get home at the end of the day.’
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