Health Tip: Women who have GBS during pregnancy

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(HealthDay News) -- Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a bacterium that is found in as many as 30 percent of pregnant women, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says.

GBS is not sexually transmitted, and although it has a similar name, it is not the bacterium that causes strep throat.

Most babies exposed to the germ don't get sick, but a few develop serious complications. That's why many women are treated with antibiotics during delivery as a precaution.

The ACOG says these women are candidates for precautionary treatment:

Women who have had a previous baby infected with GBS.
Women who had a urinary tract infection with GBS earlier in the pregnancy.
Women who had a positive GBS culture test during the pregnancy.
Women whose GBS status is unknown and who deliver at earlier than 37 weeks of pregnancy.
Women whose GBS status is unknown and who have a fever during labor.

-- Diana Kohnle

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