What causes Group B Strep in Pregnancy?

Question

I was just informed that I have Group B Strep and will need IV Antibiotics during labor. But, nobody has told me what causes it. This is my 2nd pregnancy & I didn't have it with my first. Here are a few questions I still have....

1. How did I get it?

2. Can my fiance get it since we are still very much sexually active?? I know it is not an STD, but can he contract it?

3. If he can get it...then will the antibiotics clear it when I go into labor? And will I get it right back when in contact with him if he has it?

4. Will I have it for the rest of my life?

I'm a little confused still...

Answer 1

the way i understand it is you can have it but as a healthy adult it just lays dormant and can be transmitted to the baby during delivery, which is why they give you iv antibiotics, you could get it from a uti or something simple like that..........I had to have the iv antibiotics when i delivered my twins because they hadn't tested me yet for it, since my babies were born early, don't worry you will be fine and so will everyone else.

Answer 2

this site has lots of answers

http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/encyclopedi...

Answer 3

[1. How did I get it?]

Group B strep bacteria are different from many other types of bacteria that can cause disease. People can be "colonized" with group B strep. This means that they carry the bacteria in their bodies but are not infected and do not become sick. Adults can carry the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, genital tract, or urinary tract. About 10% to 30% of pregnant women are colonized with group B strep in the genital tract.

Colonization with group B strep is usually harmless. The bacteria can become deadly, though, if something happens that allows them to invade the bloodstream. In adults, weakened immunity resulting from cancer treatment or a chronic illness can prompt an infection. More often, pregnant women who carry the bacteria can unknowingly transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Newborns can acquire early-onset group B strep disease either before or during delivery. The cause of late-onset disease in babies is not well understood.

[2. Can my fiance get it since we are still very much sexually active?? I know it is not an STD, but can he contract it?]

GBS is a naturally occurring bacterium in the human body of both women and men. Since it is commonly found in the v****a, some people wonder whether GBS is a sexually transmitted disease. The answer is "No". GBS bacteria usually do not cause genital symptoms or discomfort and are not linked with increased sexual activity. Women found to carry GBS do not need to change their sexual practices.

[4. Will I have it for the rest of my life? ]

Antibiotics that are given when labor starts help to greatly reduce the number of group B strep bacteria present during labor. This reduces the chances of the newborn becoming exposed and infected.

However, for women who are group B strep carriers, antibiotics before labor starts are not a good way to get rid of group B strep bacteria. Since they naturally live in the gastrointestinal tract (guts), the bacteria can come back after antibiotics. A woman may test positive at certain times and not at others. That’s why it’s important for all pregnant women to be tested for group B strep carriage between 35 to 37 weeks of every pregnancy. Talk to your doctor or nurse about the best way to prevent group B strep disease, or review the revised group B strep guidelines to learn more.

Answer 4

Hiya firstly I know exactly what you are going through - I found out that I had strep B in my first pregnancy when routine blood tests were done when I went into labour early.

Strep B is a bacteria commonly found found in the bowel, v****a and bladder. Usually it causes no symptoms at all, and people that carry it generally do so on a temporary basis.  I found the easiest way tocomprehenn it is - it is like thrush most people carry it in their bodies at some time and it comes and goes.

Most women if tested consistently would probably come up positive as a carrier of Group B Strep or GBS at one point or another during their life. The only time Group B Strep is typically problematic is during pregnancy.

Your fiance can be passed it on,  but as 30 - 40% of people are thought to carry it and there are no harms to adults.

The antibiotics will not clear it for you but will ensure it is not passed to your baby.  Adults are not given antibiotics as the there are no risks to adults and therefore the risks of the antibiotics are higher than those of GBS - even if they did clear it up it would be likely to re-occur.

I don't know where you are but in the UK they do not routinely check for GBS because it could show up at 30 weeks pregnant but you could not have it at 40 weeks.  

I felt lucky that it had actually been found during my tests which would not have routinely been done had I not gone into early labour.  - it could have been that you did have it in your first labour but it was just not detected.  

In future pregnancies you will be given antibiotics now that GBS has been detected.

Feel free to email me if you want to discuss more as I did masses of investigation when I found out I had it.

Answer 5

Group B Strep is a bacteria that normally lives in the intestinal tract of most people.  It is not a STD, but it just one of billions of bacteria that normally live in our bodies.  Your boyfriend has had it, as do you, and most everyone else. It is harmless to everyone except for babies as they are being born.  Babies exposed as they move through the birth canal can get sick, so women who have it present are given antibiotics to kill off the bacteria.

Here is an article about it on babycenter.com

http://www.babycenter.com/0_group-b-stre...