Group B Strep — Mum's The Word (Writing)

What Is GBS? How Does It Affect Mothers During Childbirth?

This month is International Group B Strep Awareness Month. Group B Strep is a bacteria that is found naturally in 1 in 4 pregnant women and affects 1 in 2,000 babies in the U.S. It is not that common, but this month is to bring awareness to the general public.

For my book about childbirth around the world I interviewed SheéLee Rock, a childbirth educator and doula, located in Virginia. I asked her about GBS.

KHRISTEE: What is GBS?

SHEÉLEE: GBS stands for Group Beta Strep.

KHRISTEE: How does it affect mothers when they test positive for Group Beta Strep?

SHEÉLEE: GBS is a normal bacteria that lives in the vagina, all the time. It can come and go. It also comes and goes from the intestinal tract. It typically doesn’t cause any symptoms or signs. Moms can have it now, in their pregnancy, during their labor.

The concern is that sometimes moms that have Group Beta Strep in the intestinal tract and in the vagina during labor can possibly pass an infection to the babies and a very small amount of those babies can die. What happens though is that moms are typically tested later in pregnancy for this by a swab that goes into the vagina and then a swab that goes into the rectum and if it comes back positive, they’re not tested again, even though, your GBS can change. You could be positive during your tests around 34-36 weeks and then can be negative during labor. Or you could have a negative test, and then be positive during labor; they don’t care. In the U.S., they test you once and go with those results.