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Group B Strep

Had my scan this afternoon and then saw the midwife. She asked if i had Group B Strep previously and i said no what is it. She explained and i said if you have it but dont know what can happen eg to the baby? She was really off with me and wouldnt tell me properly. She kept telling me if you know you have it you are given antibiotics and monitored but wouldnt tell me what happens if you dont know you have it. Can anyone help? All i could get out of her is worse case baby could die. She also said only 25% of people have it (so not many then!!!!!)

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  • just done a quick google on it. have a look - hers a bit of what i found

    Group B streptococcus (GBS) is one of many bacteria that normally live in our bodies and usually cause no harm. This is called GBS carriage, colonisation with GBS or carrying GBS.

    About a quarter of pregnant women in the UK are estimated to carry GBS in their vagina and rectum. As a result, many babies come into contact, and are colonised with, GBS around the time of labour and birth. The vast majority of babies are unaffected, but a small number become seriously ill with GBS infection.

    Early-onset GBS infectionIt is estimated that approximately 1 out of every 1,600 babies born in the UK and Ireland develops early-onset GBS infection. This means that every year in the UK (with 700,000 births per year) around 440 babies will develop early-onset GBS infection.


  • hia hun,i had group b strep when i was pregnant with my little girl n it was only detected because i had a vaginal swap taken at 14 wks.Group b strep is a bacteria that almost all of us carry in our body,usually in out throats but in pregnancy it can spread down to the vagina and if preasent at the birth can pass on to your baby.If this happens baby can develop meningitis n as ur mw said in worse case senario die.If you have it you have to have antibiotics whilst in labour.(i had to have these)before baby is born to prevent it passing onto them.Baby is then monitored for symptoms ie red rash,high temperature.Groupbstrep.org has been running a petition for all pregnant mums to be routinely tested for it as in the uk we are not.Check out the website for more info.If your mw wnt do a test you can get one done privately,think it costs nout ??30 but its not much for saving your babies life is it?!i hipe i have been of some help,hanna x
  • hi i have group b strep and like hollysmum only found out thru a swab i had done when i had a bleed. this is my second child and had no odea i had it first time round, and may not even have had it then. hollysmum has explained it pretty well and i dont know what else i can say about it, except thet i was told its not routinely tested for cause they dont know when is the most accurate time to do it. i was 25 wks when if ound out i had it, but by the time of the birth i could be clear, altho i am still getting the antiobiotic, and they still treat you like you still have it x


    http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/1;19;29/st/20080523/dt/5/k/1ec5/preg.png




    [Modified by: lauragcam on April 01, 2008 05:12 PM]
  • This is interesting as me and my hubby were only talking about this the other day. They did a feature on This Morning a few weeks back about it.
    Apparently there is no routine test available on the NHS, but you can pay for a private test for about ??30-??40 to see if you carry it. The test has to be performed at around 35-37 weeks. We're definitely going to pay for the test!

    http://www.itv.com/Lifestyle/ThisMorning/Health/DrChrissavedmylife2/default.html

    http://www.gbss.org.uk/ this site is REALLY good and tells you all about the private test. Dr Chris from This Morning is also on it.
    Got to be worth considering!
    xx
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