10/05/2026
October is Prenatal-onset Group B Strep (GBS) Disease Recognition Month
There are three types of GBS disease (prenatal-onset, early-onset, and late-onset) but prenatal-onset is often overlooked or not recognized, which minimizes the potential of GBS to cause thousands of babies to be miscarried, stillborn, or born already sick each year due to being infected by GBS in the womb.
GBS infections before birth are called “prenatal-onset.” Prenatal-onset GBS (POGBS) disease includes miscarriages and stillbirths caused by group B strep. Currently, babies who are born already infected with group B strep are classified as "early-onset" regardless of when the infection began. However, early-onset prevention strategies do not prevent GBS infections beginning before a woman's labor starts or her water breaks. GBS can also cause preterm labor and a woman's water to break too soon.
Naturopathic and integrative approaches to managing Group B Streptococcus (GBS) during pregnancy focus on supporting the microbiome and immune function, though standard medical guidelines emphasize that intravenous (IV) antibiotics during labor remain the proven method to prevent newborn transmission.
RecognitionMonth