Who is at higher risk for group B streptococcal disease?
Pregnant women with the following conditions are at higher risk of having a baby with GBS disease: • previous baby with GBS disease • urinary tract infection due to GBS • GBS carriage late in pregnancy • fever during labor • rupture of membranes 18 hours or more before delivery • labor or rupture of membranes before 37 weeks Can pregnant women be checked for group B streptococcal infections? GBS carriage can be detected during pregnancy by taking a swab of both the vagina and rectum for special culture. Physicians who culture for GBS carriage during prenatal visits should do so late in pregnancy (35-37 weeks’ gestation); cultures collected earlier do not accurately predict whether a mother will have GBS at delivery. A positive culture result means that the mother carries GBS — not that she or her baby will definitely become ill. Women who carry GBS should not be given oral antibiotics before labor because antibiotic treatment at this time does not prevent GBS disease in newborns. An e
