Toward the end of Dr. Bernetta Avery's pregnancy with her first child, she underwent a test – a quick swab performed by her health care provider of the lower vagina and rectum – for group B streptococcal (GBS) infection.

Her result? Positive. Her reaction? "We simply said, 'OK, thanks for the information,'" Dr. Avery recalls of her and her husband's response. "I totally did not stress about it," says Dr. Avery, who not only is the mother of a healthy 2 1/2-year-old son, but also is a pediatrician and faculty member at the University of California San Francisco Children's Hospital.

Dr. Avery knew a positive result for GBS is not concerning for the mother. "It [GBS] is a normal bacteria, among many, in the vaginal tract of many women," she says. "We care about it because it can cause major sepsis [blood or tissue infection] in infants as well as other serious medical problems."

July is International Group B Streptococcus Awareness Month, so there's no time like the present to review with your midwife or OB/GYN the tests you should receive as your due date approaches.

Whereas group A streptococcus causes strep throat, group B streptococcus are normal bacteria that live in the vaginas of up to 30 percent of women, according to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). The bacteria also live in the urethra of men.

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