Pregnant women may feel like they encounter a battery of tests throughout their pregnancies — screenings that are intended to closely monitor their health and the health of their developing baby.
One of those screenings, typically administered around 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy, is a simple culture that can help protect the health of newborns: a group B strep (GBS) test. The GBS culture tests for a common bacteria that can cause infections in individuals of any age but is known to be especially harmful to newborns.
The test itself is quick and the process for protecting the baby is simple: a clinician will use swab to collect a sample from the vagina and rectum. If the test is positive, your patient care team may administer antibiotics during your labor to protect the baby from exposure to the GBS bacteria.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as one in four women test positive for GBS. GBS is not a sexually transmitted infection, but a normal skin bacteria that, if untreated in labor, can cause an infection in the newborn.
Administering antibiotics during delivery greatly reduces the likelihood of the newborn contracting GBS: women who test positive for GBS and receive antibiotics during labor have only a 1 in 4,000 chance of delivering a baby with GBS; those who don’t receive antibiotics have a 1 in 200 chance. That’s why it is crucial for your care team know your GBS status for the safety of your newborn.
The antibiotics can be administered through the IV that the nurses start when you’re admitted to the hospital.
Babies who develop complications from GBS may experience a fever, difficulty breathing, lethargy and other symptoms. Early-onset GBS can present symptoms during the baby’s day of birth to first week of life while late onset of the disease may not develop symptoms until after the first week through the first three months of life.
The bacteria itself may occur within the vagina and rectum throughout a woman’s life, and often presents no symptoms to the mother. That’s why the test is so important — because it may be the only indication the patient care team has that additional steps may be necessary to protect the newborn during birth.
If you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, seeking prenatal care can be crucial to delivering a healthy baby while preserving your health as well. If you need a women’s health specialist, click the Women’s Care Team tab at TannerWomensCare.org and scroll down to “Obstetrics.” You can also call Tanner’s free, 24-hour physician referral line at 770-214-CARE (2273) at any time.