Welcome to Natural MD Radio, your place to hear the whole truth on health and medicine for women and children and get the tools you need to take back your health naturally starting now. I'm Dr. Aviva Ral. It's practically impossible to pick up a newspaper or magazine or browse the internet these days

without coming across an article on the importance of a healthy microbiome.

If you've been educating yourself about the microbiome, you've probably also learned that antibiotics are one of the things that can have a negative impact on it.

You may have also heard that when young babies are exposed to antibiotics, it can increase their risk for eczema allergies and asthma

and childhood and even obesity and diabetes later in life an issue that's gotten

significant attention because of its relationship to birth by Cessarian section, which keeps baby

from being exposed to mom's vaginal flora during birth. So it's understandable

that pregnant moms and even some health care professionals are concerned about antibiotic overuse,

particularly during pregnancy, labor, and for babies in the newborn period or early childhood.

So what do you do if testing shows you have group B strep in pregnancy and are facing the decision

about using antibiotics and labor called intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis or IAP as preventative treatment. Many women are unsure

which is the greater risk. Take the chance on your baby's developing a

GBS infection if you don't do the antibiotics or take an antibiotic that can impact your baby's

microbiome. This episode of Natural MD radio episode 130 answers the

numerous questions mamas have sent me, explains what Group E-Strep is, reviews

the risks to baby if untreated, and will discuss the validity and safety of some of the common

GBS testing, Hacks, if you will, being used in pregnancy to beat the test,

as well as alternative methods of preventing and reducing GBS colonization to achieve a true

negative prenatal test.

GBS is a complex issue and while I can't give you the answer to what you should do,

because in truth there is no one right answer and much of what we know about the impact of antibiotics on the

infant microbiome is still emerging. My hope is to give you enough information in

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