According to the Centers for Disease Control, group B strep is the most common cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns. Group B strep is a frequent cause of newborn pneumonia and is more common than rubella, congenital syphilis, and spina bifida. In the year 2001, there were about 1,700 babies in the U.S. less than one week old who got early-onset group B strep disease.
About half of the cases of group B strep disease among newborns happen in the first week of life and most cases start a few hours after birth. Infection in the lungs and infection of the fluid and lining around the brain are the most common problems. Pregnant women who test positive for group B strep during pregnancy should be given antibiotics at the time of labor or when their water breaks.
The CDC recommends that a pregnant woman be tested for group B strep in her vagina and rectum when she is 35 to 37 weeks pregnant. The test is simple and does not hurt. A sterile swab is used to collect a sample from the vagina and the rectum.
Most pregnant women have no symptoms when they are carriers for group B strep bacteria although sometimes group B strep can cause bladder infections during pregnancy or infections in the womb during labor or after delivery.
Being a carrier (testing positive for group B strep, but having no symptoms) is quite common and should not end as a death sentence for your baby.
The proper prenatal care and obstetric care can divert the harmful side of group B strep in newborns.
