Previous GBS carriage

Some women discover the presence of genital tract GBS carriage either through previous vaginal swabs, urine culture, neonatal screening or swabs taken from the placenta following a prior delivery. Others may be aware of carriage from swabs that were taken due to vaginal symptoms outside of pregnancy.

	Current evidence does not indicate that a woman who has had confirmed GBS carriage in a previous pregnancy needs to receive intrapartum prophylaxis in subsequent pregnancies.

Many women who are aware of the potential implications of GBS carriage, however, will request screening for GBS during the current pregnancy. If a clinician adopts this approach, a combined low vaginal and rectal swab should be taken at 35-37 weeks gestation with culture in enriched medium.