What does gbs stand for in pregnancy

More information on late-onset GBS infection is available here: www. If you notice any of these signs or are worried about your baby, you should urgently contact your healthcare professional and also mention GBS.

If your baby has GBS infection, early diagnosis and treatment is important as delay could be very serious or even fatal. If it is thought that your newborn baby has an infection, tests will be done to see whether GBS is the cause. This will be discussed fully with you before the tests are done. Babies with signs of GBS infection or babies who are suspected to have the infection should be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible.

Antibiotics can be life-saving when given to babies with suspected infection. Treatment will be stopped if there is no sign of infection after at least 36 hours, and all the tests are negative.

It is safe to breastfeed your new baby. Breastfeeding has not been shown to increase the risk of GBS infection, and it offers many benefits to both you and your baby. This is because:. A full list of useful organisations including the above is available on the RCOG website at: www. If you are asked to make a choice, you may have lots of questions that you want to ask.

You may also want to talk over your options with your family or friends. It can help to write a list of the questions you want answered and take it to your appointment. To begin with, try to make sure you get the answers to 3 key questions , if you are asked to make a choice about your healthcare:. Three questions that patients can ask to improve the quality of information physicians give about treatment options: A cross-over trial. Patient Education and Counselling, ; The Guideline contains a full list of the sources of evidence used.

You can find it online at: www. If you have recently read one of our leaflets, please give us feedback by completing this short questionnaire. Toggle navigation. Print version PDF. Large print version PDF. Audio version. If you carry GBS, most of the time your baby will be born safely and will not develop an infection.

However, it can rarely cause serious infection such as sepsis, pneumonia or meningitis. Most early-onset GBS infections are preventable. The baby probably became infected after the birth. For example, they may have caught the infection from someone else. Breastfeeding does not increase the risk of GBS infection and will protect your baby against other infections. Read the answers to more questions about pregnancy. Page last reviewed: 19 September Next review due: 19 September Home Common health questions Pregnancy Back to Pregnancy.

What are the risks of group B streptococcus GBS infection during pregnancy? Most pregnant women who carry group B streptococcus GBS bacteria have healthy babies. But there's a small risk that GBS can pass to the baby during childbirth. GBS can cause a uterine infection during and after pregnancy.

Symptoms of a uterine infection include:. If you have a uterine infection, your provider can give you antibiotics, and the infection usually goes away in a few days. Without treatment, infection during pregnancy may increase your chances of:. A UTI can cause fever or pain and burning when you urinate. If you have a UTI, you may find out about it from a urine test during one of your prenatal visits.

You also get antibiotics through an IV during labor and birth, because you may have high levels of GBS in your body. But researchers are making and testing vaccines to prevent GBS infection in mothers and their babies. Get expert tips and resources from March of Dimes and CDC to increase your chance of having a healthy, fully-term pregnancy and baby. Sign up for our emails to receive great health information and join us in the fight for the health of moms and babies.

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