What it is
GBS, group B strep, is a bacterium that lives in the gut and vagina of about 1 in 4 healthy women. It causes no symptoms and is not sexually transmitted. If you are GBS positive, you are a carrier, not sick. The concern is the baby: in a vaginal birth, GBS can pass to the baby and in a small number cause a serious infection. Antibiotics in labor cut that risk sharply.
What's typical
A swab is done between weeks 36 and 37. If positive, you get IV antibiotics in labor, with a goal of at least four hours before the baby arrives. Without antibiotics, about 1 to 2 in 100 babies of carriers get early infection. With them, closer to 1 in 4,000. Planned cesareans before labor do not need it.
What's known
ACOG and the CDC set the screening and treatment plan, and most hospitals and birth centers follow it. Some mothers try garlic or probiotics to test negative; there is no good evidence these change the result or the baby's risk.
What helps
- Ask for your result and get it written in your birth plan and hospital record.
- Ask about a saline lock so you are not tied to the pole between doses.
- After birth, know the signs of newborn infection: fever, trouble feeding, fast breathing, floppiness.
When to call someone
- Nowyour water breaks and you are GBS positive, or any fever in labor.
- Now, after birth: your newborn has a fever, is hard to wake, breathes fast, or will not feed.
- At your next visitquestions about the test, your result, or how antibiotics fit your birth plan.
Who helps
Tools: Birth Plan Generator
Related
- When your water breaksGetting Ready for Birth
- Fever in a newborn is an emergencyBaby Basics
- Writing a birth plan that actually helpsGetting Ready for Birth
- Hospital, birth center, or homeGetting Ready for Birth
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Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Committee opinion on prevention of group B streptococcal early-onset disease in newborns
- CDC — Group B strep: fast facts and prevention
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