GBS bacteria only a risk during pregnancy
Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a type of bacterium that can be found in the vagina or rectum of about 25% of all healthy, adult women. This is of no concern except during pregnancy.
Those who do test positive for GBS during pregnancy are said to be colonized with GBS and are at risk of passing GBS to their baby during delivery. Not every baby who is born to a mother who tests positive for GBS will become ill.
Although GBS is rare in pregnant women, the outcome can be severe. As a result, physicians often include GBS testing as a routine part of prenatal care.
screening FOR GROUP B STREPTOCOCCUS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended routine screening for the presence of vaginal GBS for all pregnant women.
This screening is best performed between the 35th and 37th week of pregnancy and involves taking a swab from the vagina. This sample is then taken to a laboratory, where it is is analyzed for the presence of GBS.
GBS is not a sexually transmitted disease (STD). GBS bacteria normally live in the intestines, vagina, or rectum, and approximately 25% of all healthy women carry GBS. For all or most women there are no symptoms of carrying GBS whatsoever.
WHAT IF I TEST POSITIVE FOR GBS?
If you test positive for GBS, this simply means you are a carrier of GBS. Not every born to mothers who tests positive for GBS will become ill.
Approximately 1 out of every 200 babies whose mothers carry GBS and who are not treated with antibiotics will develop signs and symptoms of GBS infection.
There are certain situations that may indicate that you are at a higher risk of delivering a baby who may develop GBS related infections if you are a carrier of GBS; such as:
- Labour or rupture of membranes before 37 weeks gestation
- Rupture of membranes 18 hours or more before delivery - Fever during labour - A urinary tract infection as a result of GBS during your pregnancy
- Where a mother has had a previous baby with GBS
In this case your physician will want to use antibiotics to protect your baby from contracting GBS during delivery.
According to the CDC, if you have tested positive for GBS and are not high risk, your chances of delivering a baby with GBS are as follows:
- 1 in 200 if antibiotics are not given during delivery, and
- 1 in 4000 if antibiotics are given during delivery
PROTECT your BABY
If you test positive for GBS and meet the high risk criteria, your physician will probably recommend giving you antibiotics through an intravenous drip during delivery in order to prevent your baby from becoming ill.
Taking antibiotics greatly decreases the chances of your baby developing early onset GBS infection. For women who are known to be GBS carriers early on in their pregnancy, the administration of antibiotics, before labor begins, does not to prevent the transmission of GBS to the baby.
This is because GBS bacteria naturally live within the gastrointestinal tract, and so colonization of the vagina can reoccur after treatment with antibiotics.
Also, women may test positive for GBS at certain times and negative at others. This is why it is important for all pregnant women to be tested for GBS between 35 to 37 weeks of every pregnancy.
HOW DOES GBS AFFECT A NEWBORN BABY?
Babies may experience early or late-onset GBS infection. The signs and symptoms of early-onset GBS infection occur within hours of delivery and include:
- Sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis (these are the most common complications of GBS infection) - Breathing problems - Heart and blood pressure instability - Gastrointestinal and kidney problems Early-onset GBS infection occurs more frequently than late-onset GBS infection and intravenous antibiotics are used to treat mothers and newborns with early-onset GBS infection.
The signs and symptoms of late-onset GBS infection, occur within a week or a few months of delivery and the most common complication from late onset GBS infection includes Meningitis
Further information is available from http:// www.groupbstrepinternational.org/