Group B streptococcus ✿

Group B streptococcus (Group B strep or GBS): 

"Is a common type of bacteria (tiny organisms that live in and around your body) that can cause infection. Usually GBS is not serious for adults, but it can hurt newborns. 

Many people carry Group B strep bacteria and don’t know it. It may never make you sick. GBS in adults usually doesn’t have any symptoms, but it can cause some minor infections, like a bladder or urinary tract infection (UTI). While GBS may not be harmful to you, it can be very harmful to your baby. If you’re pregnant, you can pass it to your baby during labor and childbirth. About 1 out of 4 pregnant women (25 percent) carry GBS bacteria. The best way to know if you have GBS is to get tested. If you do have GBS, though, there’s good news: your health care provider can give you treatment during labor and birth that protects your baby from GBS
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How do you know if you have GBS?

Your provider tests you for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy. Testing for GBS is simple and painless. Your provider takes a swab of your vagina and rectum and sends the sample to a laboratory. Your test results are usually available in 1 to 2 days.

Your provider also can use some quick screening tests during labor to test you for GBS. But these should not replace the regular GBS test that you get at 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy.

How can you protect your baby from GBS?

If your GBS test at 35 to 37 weeks shows you have the infection, your provider gives you medicine called an antibiotic during labor and birth through an IV (through a needle into a vein). You also may be treated if you have any risk factors for GBS and you don’t know your GBS test results or you haven’t been tested yet. Treatment with antibiotics helps prevent your baby from getting the infection.

Penicillin is the best antibiotic for most women. Another antibiotic called ampicillin also can be used. These medicines usually are safe for you and your baby. But some women (up to 1 in 25 women, or 4 percent) treated with penicillin have a mild allergic reaction, like a rash. About 1 in 10,000 women have a serious allergic reaction that needs to be treated right away. If you’re allergic to penicillin, your provider can treat you with a different medicine. If your test shows you have GBS, remind your health care providers at the hospital when you go to have your baby. This way, you can be treated quickly. Treatment works best when it begins at least 4 hours before childbirth. If you have GBS and you’re having a scheduled cesarean birth (c-section) before labor starts and before your water breaks, you probably don’t need antibiotics. It’s not helpful to take oral antibiotics before labor to treat GBS. The bacteria can return quickly, so you could have it again by the time you have your baby. 

If you have GBS, what are the chances that you can pass it to your baby?

If you have GBS during childbirth and it’s not treated, there is a 1 to 2 in 100 chance (1 to 2 percent) that your baby will get the infection. The chances are higher if you have any of these risk factors:

• Your baby is premature. This means your baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
• Your water breaks (also called ruptured membranes) 18 hours or more before you have your baby.
• You have a fever (100.4 F or higher) during labor.
• You’ve already had a baby with a GBS infection.
• You had a UTI during your pregnancy that was caused by GBS.

If you have GBS and you’re treated during labor and birth, your treatment helps protect your baby from the infection. 

What problems can GBS cause in newborns?

Babies with a GBS infection can have one or more of these illnesses:

• Meningitis, an infection of the fluid and lining around the brain
• Pneumonia, a lung infection
• Sepsis, a blood infection

Pneumonia and sepsis in newborns can be life-threatening. 

Most babies who are treated for GBS do fine. But even with treatment, about 1 in 20 babies (5 percent) who have GBS die. Premature babies are more likely to die from GBS than full-term babies (born at 39 to 41 weeks of pregnancy). 

GBS infection may lead to health problems later in life. For example, about 1 in 4 babies (25 percent) who have meningitis caused by GBS develop:

• Cerebral palsy
• Hearing problems
• Seizures
• Learning problems

If your baby has GBS infection, how is he treated?

It’s important to try and prevent a newborn from getting GBS. But if a baby does get infected with early-onset GBS or late-onset GBS, he is treated with antibiotics through an IV. 

If you’re treated for GBS during labor, does your baby need special treatment? 

Probably not. But if you have a uterine infection (an infection in your uterus) during labor and birth, your baby should be tested for GBS. Your baby’s provider can treat your baby with antibiotics while you wait for the test results. "