Group B streptococcus screening

What is group B streptococcus? Why do I need to be tested for group B strep? What are the consequences of earlyonset GBS disease? Why not screen me for GBS at my first prenatal visit and treat me right away if I test positive? What is the test like? What will happen if I test positive? What if I go into labor before my results are available? What are the risks or side effects from taking antibiotics during labor? What kind of followup is there after my baby is born? Can my baby get a GBS infection later? Is there any way to prevent lateonset GBS? En espa

Reviewed by the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board

What is group B streptococcus?Group B strep (GBS) is a kind of bacteria that many people harbor in their intestinal tracts. The bacteria may also inhabit (or "colonize") your vagina as well, and be passed on to your baby during labor and birth. See the stages of labor and watch a baby being born.

Approximately 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women carry GBS in the vagina or rectum or surrounding area. While GBS is generally harmless in healthy adults, it may cause stillbirth and serious infections in babies.

Sexual transmission of group B strep is possible, but group B strep is not considered a sexually transmitted infection because your genital area may be colonized by bacteria you carry in your own gastrointestinal tract. It's also not the same as group A strep, the bacteria that usually cause strep throat.

Why do I need to be tested for group B strep?Getting screened for GBS late in pregnancy and receiving antibiotic treatment during labor if you're a carrier reduces your baby's risk of becoming infected.

For this reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend that all pregnant women with two exceptions routinely be screened for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks. (The two exceptions are women who have previously had a baby with a GBS disease or who have had a urinary tract infection caused by GBS during their current pregnancy. These women don't need to be screened because they're already considered at high risk and will be automatically treated during labor.)

Before pregnant women were routinely screened and treated, approximately 2 to 3 babies per 1,000 live births suffered from what's know as earlyonset GBS disease, a lifethreatening illness that shows up in the first week of life Valentino Rockstud Shoes (most often in the first 24 hours after birth). Now, there are about 0.35 cases per 1,000 live births.

What are the consequences of earlyonset GBS disease?Earlyonset GBS disease can cause sepsis (an infection in the blood), pneumonia, and, less frequently, meningitis. Some of these babies, particularly those with meningitis, will have longterm health problems such as hearing or vision loss, cerebral palsy, or developmental disabilities, and about 5 percent won't survive. babies have a lower survival rate than fullterm babies, and those who survive are at higher risk for longterm problems from the disease.

Why not screen me for GBS at my first prenatal visit and treat me right away if I test positive?The test isn't done until late in your pregnancy because the bacteria can come and go. So the result of an early vaginal or rectal culture is not a good predictor of whether or not your genital area will be colonized when you give birth. may be negative at one point during pregnancy and colonized by the time you go into labor, or vice versa. For the same reason, you need to be screened during each pregnancy.

Likewise, taking antibiotics before you go into labor doesn't prevent your genital area from becoming colonized again, so unlike treatment during labor it doesn't reduce the risk of transmitting the infection to your baby.

However, Valentino Sale if you have a urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by GBS during pregnancy, you'll be treated with oral antibiotics right away and have a repeat urine culture done after treatment to make sure the infection is gone, just as you would for any UTI during pregnancy.

Although oral antibiotics will take care of the bacteria in your urinary tract, some bacteria may remain in your genital tract or return there later. Having GBS in your urine is a sign that you have a lot of it in your genital tract, so you'll automatically be given IV antibiotics during labor.

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