728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Preemies › Group B Streptococcus

Group B Streptococcus

How It Affects Mom and Baby

By Jenn Director Knudsen

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Toward the end of Dr. Bernetta Avery's pregnancy with her first child, she underwent a test – a quick swab performed by her health care provider of the lower vagina and rectum – for group B streptococcal (GBS) infection.

Her result? Positive. Her reaction? "We simply said, 'OK, thanks for the information,'" Dr. Avery recalls of her and her husband's response.

"I totally did not stress about it," says Dr. Avery, who not only is the mother of a healthy 2-1/2-year-old son, but also is a pediatrician and faculty member at the University of California San Francisco Children's Hospital.

Dr. Avery knew a positive result for GBS is not concerning for the mother. "It [GBS] is a normal bacteria, among many, in the vaginal tract of many women," she says. "We care about it because it can cause major sepsis [blood or tissue infection] in infants as well as other serious medical problems."

July is International Group B Streptococcus Awareness Month, so there's no time like the present to review with your midwife or OB/GYN the tests you should receive as your due date approaches.

What Is GBS?
Whereas group A streptococcus causes strep throat, group B streptococcus are normal bacteria that live in the vaginas of up to 30 percent of women, according to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). The bacteria also live in the urethra of men.

"The bacteria does not hurt them [women]," says Dr. Michele R. Lauria, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and radiology with the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. In fact, GBS is not an infection for women but instead a colonization, which means these naturally-occurring strep bacteria serve no purpose.


Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Want to see more?

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.