Painless blood testing to prevent neonatal sepsis

The current US guidelines advise that all women colonized with Group B streptococcus (GBS) at 35-37 weeks, as well as those laboring before this time and all women with GBS urinary tract infections, should be offered intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, usually in the form of high-dose intravenous penicillin or ampicillin, unless delivered by planned cesarean section before the onset of labor in a woman with intact membranes. In term and preterm babies who are born to treated women, in addition to babies who act ill, the recommendation is to treat the baby with antibiotics. In certain circumstances, such as when the mother receives an intrapartum antibiotic < 4 hours prior to delivery, the baby receives antibiotics even if the baby appears well. This paper proposes a new process for testing for GBS that involves using the umbilical cord. If this process were used, babies would not need to have blood drawn and would experience less pain.