Pregnant sister-in-law has group b strep, risk of my newborn son contracting it from her?

[JessSpurls]

Any advice/medical knowledge would be much appreciated!

My sister-in-law is 32 weeks pregnant and has just found out she has group b strep (GBS). We were supposed to meet her tomorrow to introduce her to our 2 week old baby, but having had a quick look online it seems there is a risk of our little boy contracting late-onset GBS from coming into contact with her. Could anyone offer any advice on this? After 4 miscarriages last year and an emergency c-section to deliver him safely, I'm anxious about knowingly exposing him to something that could cause sepsis, meningitis and/or a host of other things

Thanks in advance x

I didn't know it could spread that easy. My own baby didn't catch it from me when he was delivered naturally without antibiotics (my labour was very quick and there was no time!). It was only the first 24 hours that they were worried about observing him.

Isn't it just through the birth canal that they can catch it ? I had it in my pregnancy and had a c section but now I'm thinking if my newborn can catch it from me !

Hi both, the risk is highest to your own baby during labour, but research suggests that half of all late-onset infections are contracted from someone other than the birth mother, and (although probably quite rare) it can be transmitted through any skin to skin contact.. just don't know what to believe/listen to now!

GBS lives in the vagina so very unlikely indeed. As long as hands are washed I wouldn’t be worried at all.

My daughter had group b strep sepsis at birth. She spent two weeks in NICU and nearly died after contracting it from me, so ive done a lot of reading.

This charity is a really good source of information - gbss.org.uk/. You could phone them and ask.

CDC also has good info - www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/about/transmission-risks.html#:~:text=It%20can%20be%20hard%20to,at%20risk%20of%20getting%20sick although CDC is the US Govt so might have slightly different guidelines.

If you are very worried, your SIL could just not hold your baby - its a bacteria so it cant spread through the air. But my reading suggests its extremely rare to catch it from someone other than the mother.

It sounds unlikely your baby will catch it from her but I still wouldn’t take any chances. Hold off the visit - she’ll presumably be getting antibiotics.

It’s worth bearing in mind though that it’s super common. I also had it in pregnancy - was really surprised and there were no symptoms.

But if there is any risk I still wouldn’t knowingly expose my baby to it.

I would say it is highly unlikely unless your baby is coming in contact with her bodily fluids. Make sure she washes her hands and if you are really worried maybe ask her not to kiss the baby (not that I think the baby could catch it this way, but it might make you less worried about it)

Can someone explain if it's likely your own baby can catch it from you after birth ?
I thought it was just possibly contracted via vaginal delivery