|  | Family Health | Womens Health

Signs and Symptoms of Streptococcus B and Meningitis

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a bacteria found in some pregnant women that has the possibility of causing sepsis or meningitis in her baby. All pregnant women are encouraged by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to be screened for GBS between the 35th and 37th week of pregnancy. There are no symptoms of GBS and a woman only knows if she's colonized, meaning she's a carrier of GBS, if she tests positive for it.

  1. Significance

    • Many adults have some level of GBS in their system and this is normal. The concern is with pregnant women who have GBS because it can be passed to their babies and result in infant meningitis or other serious diseases. If a woman is pregnant and tests positive, her health provider may recommend that she take antibiotics through an IV during labor to decrease the chance of passing GBS to her baby. A midwife may recommend herbal or homeopathic remedies instead of antibiotics. GBS can be deadly to a newborn if something happens during labor or delivery that allows the bacteria to invade the mother's bloodstream and pass directly to the baby.

    Identification

    • The test for GBS consists of a swab of the vagina and rectum that is analyzed in a lab for traces of the bacteria. Even if a woman tests positive for GBS, the chances of passing it to her baby is rare. Meningitis, sepsis and pneumonia are the most common complications for an infected newborn to experience, though these conditions are also rare. Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes and an infection of the lining and fluid surrounding the brain. Babies with meningitis may have a fever yet have cold hands and feet, are refusing feeds or vomiting, are lethargic and irritable, have pale blotchy skin, have breathing problems, seizures, or a bulging fontanelle. Late-onset GBS, which occurs two days to one month after birth, usually results in infant meningitis. One in eight infected babies will die. Of the ones that survive meningitis, up to a third have severe long-term health problems, like loss of vision or hearing and lung damage.

    Size

    • Ten to thirty percent of pregnant women are estimated to be colonized with GBS. A women who hasn't taken antibiotic and is positive for GBS has a one in 200 chance of having a baby born with a disease. If she takes the antibiotics, the chances are one in 4,000. GBS in fatal in five to 15 percent of infected newborns.

    Types

    • Most people normally have amounts of GBS in their system with no effects. The bacterium is usually harmless unless it affects an elderly person or someone with a weakened immune system.

    Prevention/Solution

    • There are no ways to completely prevent GBS. All women should be tested to see if they are carriers. There are precautions some health providers can take to contain GBS from being transmitted to the baby.

Womens Health - Related Articles