SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION
The prevalence of GBS colonization was rather high among the study
population. This is one of the few studies to clearly determine that
smoking during pregnancy is an independent predictor of GBS colonization
in women of term or near term neonates. GBS colonization was highest
among the youngest mothers and tended to decrease with age especially
among non-smoking mothers. This is another reason why women should be
counseled to stop smoking if they are pregnant in order to avoid risking
their newborn from developing GBS disease.