Antibiotic use during pregnancy may raise risk of bacterial disease in babies

Maternal use of antibiotics during pregnancy may raise the risk of babies developing Group B Streptococcus GBS disease a common bacterial disease according to a studyWhile the bacteria usually live harmlessly in the gut or genital tract they can cause serious infections especially in newborns older adults and immunocompromised individuals leading to sepsis meningitis and pneumoniaThe study led by an international team from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden University of Antwerp in Belgium showed that prenatal antibiotic exposure was associated with an increased risk of neonatal GBS disease within four weeks of delivery Early thirdtrimester exposure showed the strongest associationldquoPrenatal antibiotic exposure can raise GBS risk within four weeks postpartum especially in neonates not covered by riskbased intrapartum prophylaxis with the early third trimester being a critical window of susceptibilityrdquo said the researchers in the paper in the Journal of InfectionThe team conducted a populationbased cohort study including all singleton live births in Sweden from 2006 to 2016 using national registersAmong 1095644 liveborn singletons 245 per cent were exposed to antibioticsGBS incidence was found to be higher among exposed neonates than unexposed 086 vs 066 per 1000 live births particularly among neonates without GBS risk factorsAccording to the researchers the study is the first to examine prenatal antibiotic exposure in relation to the risk of neonatal GBS disease However it aligned with previous Nordic studies which reported a 1634 per cent increased risk of infections during early childhood ages 15 years following prenatal antibiotic exposureThe study found that GBSactive antibiotics given close to delivery within four weeks offered no protectionThe association of prenatal exposure to any antibiotics with neonatal GBS disease appeared to depend on the presence of clinical GBS risk factors with a positive association observed only among pregnancies without such risk factorsThis suggests that neonates without established GBS risk factors may benefit more from limiting prenatal antibiotic exposure the team saidCalling for more research the team also underscored the need for increased vigilance in monitoring neonates who fall outside existing GBS prevention guidelines particularly those exposed to antibiotics in utero during the early third trimester