Hispanics less likely to get prenatal GBS screen.(Obstetrics)

Hispanic women and those who receive prenatal care at a hospital or clinic were less likely to be screened for group B streptococcus in North Carolina during 2002-2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

In 2002, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists jointly recommended universal prenatal screening for vaginal and rectal group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization at 35-37 weeks' gestation. The same year, the CDC began analyzing GBS screening rates in the North Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), a population-based monthly mail/telephone survey of randomly selected women in the state who have recently delivered a live-born infant.

The data comprise responses from 3,027 women who were included in the sample. In 2002, 70% reported having been tested for GBS during their most recent pregnancy, 11% said they had not been tested, and 19% did not know ...