How to identify likelihood of contracting Group B strep

The U.S. centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers some answers to questions about risks of getting group B strep during pregnancy:

How do you find out if you carry group B strep during pregnancy?

CDC's revised guidelines recommend 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 (“Q-tip”) is used to collect a sample from the vagina and the rectum. This is sent to a laboratory for testing.

What happens if my pregnancy screening test is positive for group B strep?

To prevent group B strep bacteria from being passed to the newborn, pregnant women who carry group B strep should be given antibiotics through the vein (IV) at the time of labor or when their water breaks.

Are there any symptoms if you are a group B strep carrier?

Most pregnant women have no symptoms when they are carriers for group B strep bacteria.

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. Around 25% of women may carry the bacteria at any time. This doesn't mean that they have group B strep disease, but it does mean that they are at higher risk for giving their baby a group B strep infection during birth.

What if I don't know whether or not I am group B strep positive when my labor starts?

Talk to your doctor about your group B strep status. Pregnant women who do not know whether or not they are group B strep positive when labor starts should be given antibiotics if they have:

• Labor starting at less than 37 weeks (preterm labor);
• Prolonged membrane rupture (water breaking more than 18 hours before labor starts);
• Fever during labor.