If you are pregnant or plan to become, follow some simple steps to protect your unborn baby from infections that can cause serious complications.
Group B streptococcus
If you are pregnant, or know someone who is, you need to know about group B streptococcus, also known as GBS. About a quarter of all women have the bacteria that cause infection by group B streptococci These bacteria usually will not harm you or the people who have close contact, but can be dangerous to your unborn baby. Babies can get very sick and even die if their mothers pass GBS during birth. Therefore it is important to make testing of group B streptococci in each pregnancy.
If you are pregnant and have group B strep, your doctor may give you an antibiotic (usually penicillin) during labor to prevent these bacteria infect the baby. If you think you will undergo a cesarean delivery or you could just say, talk to your doctor as soon as possible.