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| |    Group B Strep in Pregnancy by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. reviewed by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. What is Group B Strep? Group B strep (also called GBS or Beta strep) is a type of bacteria found in the vagina in about 15% of women. There are normally different types of bacteria in the vagina (just like on the skin) and GBS is just one of them. It is not an infection in the mother, and does not require treatment before labor. Testing for GBS Late in your third trimester you may be tested for GBS. Testing involves placing a cotton swab into the vagina. The swab then is sent to the lab to see if this particular bacteria is present. Antibiotic treatment for GBS-positive women during labor A mother with group B strep who is not treated with antibiotics during labor has the potential of passing the bacteria on to her baby as the baby passes through the birth canal. Newborns do not fight infections well, and GBS in the newborn can be very serious, causing pneumonia, meningitis and blood poisoning (sepsis.) No need to treat GBS early in pregnancy Since GBS is not an infection when in the vagina, and it does not hurt the baby during the pregnancy, there is no reason to treat mothers before labor. In fact, if a woman gets antibiotics earlier in pregnancy, the vaginal GBS often is back again by the time the baby is born. The only benefit of treating mothers with GBS is to prevent transmission to the baby during delivery. Most cases of GBS infection in newborns can be prevented with the treatment protocol. GBS treatment protocol If your GBS test is positive, you will probably receive intravenous antibiotics when you arrive at the hospital in labor. The dose is usually repeated every 4 hours until the baby is born. Once the antibiotic is in your system for four hours it is said to be fully effective, and the baby is protected. If you develop signs of actual infection, like a fever during labor, or if the baby looks ill at birth, blood tests may be needed on the baby to see if he requires antibiotics after birth. Using risk factors to decide whether antibiotics are recommended If you go into labor and have not been tested for GBS, your practitioner will look at your risk factors to decide if you should be given antibiotics during labor. These risk factors include:
Keep in mind that routine testing and treating of mothers for GBS is relatively new. The protocol was developed to prevent the rare case of serious GBS infection in the newborn. Most mothers who carry GBS have healthy babies, even if they do not get their antibiotics during labor.
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