Testing for group B strep is not routinely offered to all pregnant women in the UK. Testing is usually only offered to women who had GBS in a previous pregnancy. It is sometimes found by chance when you have vaginal or rectal swabs or a urine test for other reasons.

You may need a strep B test if you are pregnant. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends GBS testing for all pregnant women. Testing is usually done in the 36th or 37th week of pregnancy. If you go into labor earlier than 36 weeks, you may be tested at that time.

At the moment, the NHS does not routinely test for GBS in pregnant women (RCOG, 2017; NHS Choices, 2018). This is because: it’s uncommon for GBS to give your baby an infection; tests are not accurate enough; and many babies affected by it are born earlier than when they’d be screened (RCOG, 2017).

Yes, pregnant women are screened for GBS as part of routine prenatal care. The test for GBS is called a culture. It is now done between 36 and 38 weeks of pregnancy. In this test, a swab is used to take a sample from the vagina and rectum.

Pregnant women are routinely tested for GBS late in the pregnancy, usually between weeks 35 and 37. The test is simple, inexpensive, and painless. Called a culture, it involves using a large cotton swab to collect samples from the vagina and rectum. These samples are tested in a lab to check for GBS.

Like many bacteria, GBS may be passed from one person to another through skin-to-skin contact, for example, hand contact, kissing, close physical contact, etc. As GBS is often found in the vagina and rectum of colonised women, it can be passed through sexual contact.

It is unknown (aside from during childbirth) how GBS spreads from person to person. The bacteria is not always present and detectable in the body and may come and go. You may test positive in one pregnancy and negative in another. You cannot give GBS to your partner or your other children.

But there’s a small risk that GBS can pass to the baby during childbirth. Sometimes GBS infection in newborn babies can cause serious complications that can be life threatening, but this is not common. Extremely rarely, GBS infection during pregnancy can also cause miscarriage, early (premature) labour or stillbirth.

Having group B strep in pregnancy is not a sign of any wrongdoing on the mother’s part. Although the bacteria colonize the genital area, this is not a sexually transmitted infection and many women carry streptococcus without being aware of it.

Group B strep infections are caused by bacteria from the species and genus Streptococcus agalactiae. Streptococci were divided into groups in 1933 by mixing the strains with antibodies that were produced in rabbits.

According to the March of Dimes, about 25 percent of pregnant women carry GBS, although they usually don’t have any symptoms. Testing for GBS is common in pregnancy. The test, which involves swabbing the vagina and rectum, is usually done between weeks 36 and 37 of pregnancy.

Group B Strep in the urine GBS detected in the urine usually means a GBS urinary tract infection is present – this should be treated at diagnosis with oral antibiotics and the treatment repeated until urine tests come back clear. Group B Strep infection in adults GBS can occasionally cause other infection in adults.