Bacterial Meningitis During Birth Article

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Bacterial Meningitis during Birth

Bacterial meningitis mostly affects adults in the US because children receive immunizations during their early years to help prevent this contagious disease. However, newborns can contract the disease at birth.

Author: Sara Goldstein

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During the pregnancy, both mother and child are at risk of being infected with this very dangerous disease.

This occurs when bacteria are spread to the baby either through the bloodstream or as they pass through the birth canal.
Bacterial meningitis attacks the fluid in the brain and the spinal cord, and can lead to brain damage or death. It is an extremely serious illness that must be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible.

Group B Streptococcus
Group B streptococcus is present in roughly 25% of all adult women. Just having GBS does not mean becoming sick, however, it does mean you are colonized by bacteria. In addition to this, not every mother with GBS will necessarily pass it on to their child. Only one in every 2000 babies whose mother’s are carriers will get GBS. Unfortunately, those babies who are infected can get sepsis or pneumonia instead of meningitis, which must also be treated immediately.

Your doctor should perform a prenatal exam on you when you are 35 to 37 weeks into your pregnancy to test for the presence of GBS. If the doctor finds that you are a carrier, you will be given antibiotics so that you do not pass it on to your baby.

Symptoms of meningitis in your infant include:
• Trouble breathing
• Trouble eating
• Irritability
• Stiff neck
• Seizures
• Excessive sleepiness
• Fever
• Light sensitivity

Pregnant women that have bacterial meningitis may experience muscle aches, diarrhea, nausea, or develop a fever. When the nervous system is infected, they may have a stiff neck and headache. Usually pregnant women will contribute these symptoms to just having the flu, but if the infection spreads to the fetus, both mother and child can be in danger of more serious problems.
If you live in Dallas, Texas and want to learn more about bacterial meningitis during birth, please visit the website of Polewski Law, P.C. today.

About Author

Dallas personal injury attorneys, Polewski and Associates, provide professional legal representation for individuals suffering from a personal injury sustained in an accident due to another person’s negligence in the Dallas,Texas area.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-sara-goldstein-4751.html

Bacterial Meningitis during Birth