Understanding Strep A, B, and C During Pregnancy: A Concerned Partner's Inquiry

Question
My wife is 36 weeks today and just found out yesterday she is negative for strep B but they think it might be A or C. The nurse said she would look into it but wouldn't tell us what A and C are. I am currently deployed and emails make things harder on us. We are both scared and don't know what to do. This is her first child and for years was told she might not be able to have children due to heavy scaring from an accidint when she was in her first weeks of pregnancy approx 3 years ago. I thank you for your time and efforts. Please reply with any information you can. My wifes email is lori_mallory2003@yahoo.com if you need more information.

Thanks
AM3 Eric Mallory
uss George Washington

Answer
At 36 weeks, we perform a culture of the vagina to test for Group B Streptococcal infection, which can cause increased morbidity to the baby.  If the test is positive at 36 weeks, it means that there will be a large colonization of Broup B Strep (GBS) when she goes into labor four weeks later (40 weeks). If it is positive for GBS, she will be treated with antibiotics during labor to prevent the transmission to the baby as it traverses the bith canal. If she is negative for GBS, no treatment is necessary. We do not test for Group9 A Strep (there is no Group C Strep) Group9 A is found in sore throats but has no effect on p regnancy or delivery. Are you sure that the nurse was talking about GBS and not Hepatitis B? There are three types of Hepatitis (Type A, B, and C). Hepatitis C is untreatable. Type B has a vaccination and is transmitted sexually and via needles. Type A is transmitted orally and can be treated with gamma globin. She was tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen in early pregnancy and if it was positive, she would have been told. That is completely different from GBS.