Anyone been told they got strep b??

[jadeybabe88]

What happend?? Your stories please

 

[xarlenex]

I had it with my daughter. It's really common, you'll be giving antibiotics during labour to help prevent the baby from catching it, if the antibiotics don't have enough time to work (I'm sure it's 4 hours) then the baby would be tested for the infection after birth and treated with antibiotics until the results came back. Obviously the antibiotics during labour are optional, some people do refuse.

My personal story is I had a home birth, a very healthy baby girl 10 days overdue, I didnt have antibiotics because I didn't know I had the infection until days after her birth when the results of a sample taken a day or so before I was in labour finally made it back to my mifwide

 

[jadeybabe88]

Oh i been.told.alsorts i been tested.fr PTL so im paniking im.now 31 weeks got tested twice at 29 weeks and.then fri night so woried he mite.come out early ad steriods magnesium and that jus soo scared

 

[jadeybabe88]

And plus i have quick labours too

 

[Emsabub]

I had it.

It was the same as Arlene really, antibiotics in labour through IV but it was a quick process. It was a pain waiting for them to circulate my system though because I was 8cm when I got to triage. So I had to limit movement under their instruction, slowing down labour essentially so it’d be effective in time. That was hell. But in the end she was fine, didn’t pick up the virus but we had to stay in overnight just for monitoring and we got to go home the next day ☺️

 

[Hoping4numbr3]

I had group B strep with my first as well but not my 2nd and it was just like 4 hours of lots of antibiotics and that was it. Everything was fine and my daughter is 9 now. You will be okay

 

[sn0wbunnie]

It's super common. I had it with 2 of my pregnancies. I haven't been tested for this one yet. You'll get antibiotics as soon as you're in labor.

 

[kittylady]

I had it in my second pregnancy. I declined antibiotics due to quick labours (they have to be administered for a certain amount of time before birth) and had a home birth. I wouldn't have had them administered for long enough. I opted for a home birth and then hospital transfer for my second in case she needed antibiotics, which she didn't. I definitely would look into it first before agreeing. From an increased risk in antibiotic resistant infections to research suggesting the gut biome would be effected which is seen with increasing importance in research. With my third I tested negative and so stayed at home, and I will be tested again at 35-38 weeks as its not really accurate before then.

 

[..marie..]

I had it on my 2nd baby but had a very quick labour so the antibiotics were only in my system for 45 minuets top,baby was fine they just kept us in for 48 and kept doing obs on him

 

[Canadiana]

It really isn't super common. The bacteria lives in about 25% of healthy women in general, but GBS in pregnancy is pretty rare.

Without antibiotics your chances of passing it to baby are about 1 in 200
With antibiotics your chances are lessened to about 1 in 4000

 

[tankel]

I tested positive with my last pregnancy and managed to treat it with natural remedies in the weeks before labor started. I tested negative the week of the birth so no further treatment was needed.

 

[homegrown21]

It really isn't super common. The bacteria lives in about 25% of healthy women in general, but GBS in pregnancy is pretty rare.

Without antibiotics your chances of passing it to baby are about 1 in 200
With antibiotics your chances are lessened to about 1 in 4000

Actually it's pretty common, I tested positive for it and my doctor explained that at some point in our lives everyone has this on their bodies. It's just having it in your vaginal area is when it becomes an issue of passing it along to your child.

Jadeybabe88 - just talk to your doctor and have them explain it to you, as well as options and what to do when you arrive at the hospital. Good luck to you!

 

[jadeybabe88]

They sed i ave to av iv antibiotics wwn in labour asap x

 

[kittylady]

They sed i ave to av iv antibiotics wwn in labour asap x

You don't 'have' to do anything. The maternity service in the UK is a service and your birth is your choice, they can only advise not 'allow' or 'disallow' anything. Look at the AIMs website or ring them and talk to them. I really get annoyed with some of the language used by health providers in the UK that make out like you are powerless when in fact we have informed consent and any procedure, including antibiotics, should be discussed with you and the risks of having IV antibiotics as well as the benefits should be made clear so you can chose whether or not to consent. AIMs also do a booklet on group B strep and your options which is a good read. You need to know which antibiotic they are likely to use and side effects, also possible effects on the baby such as higher risk of contracting an antibiotic resistant infection. It's also worth noting that there is a lot of new evidence coming to light about the infant gut biome and its role in infant development which would be effected by this.

Its also worth discussing your own personal past experience, for example how fast you labour if you have laboured before and how long there would have to be between the administration of the antibiotic and your birth for them to deem the antibiotic to have been effective and not keep you in anyway.


For example, I was diagnosed with group b strep in my second pregnancy, I am penicillin allergic and at the time the drug used was clindamycin which I'd taken in the past so I was unlikely to get anaphylaxis. My first labour was 7 hours so it was likely to be faster than that for subsequent pregnancies, of those 7 hours I spent 3 hours in the hospital. The antibiotic had to be administered 2 hours before birth or they would be classed as not effective and they would still want to make observations for the next 24 hours. My first was born in the midwife-led unit of the hospital with only gas and air but if I has the IV they refused to accept me on a MLU and said I'd have to be on a labour ward. Statistics show that you are more likely to need interventions and birth is more likely to be more medicalised if you are on a labour ward vs a MLU/home birth. There is also evidence that a waterbirth should not be discounted due to strep B however they said this would be not be available to me.

I chose in the end to have a home birth and go into hospital for observations afterwards. I didn't believe the antibiotics would be administered in time, I wanted another natural birth (gas and air only) and I felt this was more likely in a non ward setting and the MLU wasn't an option. I spoke to the supervisor of midwives and although she admitted it was my choice she still wanted me to talk to a consultant. I spoke to the senior consultant in the end who said I was very well informed and was happy to sign me off.

In the end I had a 4 hour labour that started at 6:30 am and ended just before 10:30. I didn't even contact the midwife till about 8:30am and I would not have had time for the antibiotics to be effective as I wouldn't have got to the hospital within the 2 hour time limit let alone been hooked up to an IV. I transferred as agreed and everything was ok and I was discharged 28 hours later.


I tested negative in my 3rd pregnancy (you should be tested between 35-38 weeks and not before) so they left me alone for that mostly.


I'm now on my fourth pregnancy. The guidelines have changed since my second pregnancy and clindamycin is no longer used due to high levels of resistant strains of group b strep so they use cephalosporins for people who had a mild reaction to penicillin and vancomycin for those who have severe reactions/anaphylaxis risk. I don't know my risk category as my reaction was as a child and it was just noted that I shouldn't receive penicillin anymore so it would be likely if I test positive this time I would have to receive vancomycin, this antibiotic has to be administered by drip slowly over an hour by drip to prevent reaction and I've have to be strapped to a bed during this time, I would still need to have it administered at least 2 hours before birth before it would be considered effective and it is possible my labour wont last this long let along doing all of this. Therefore regardless of my group b strep status I will not have antibiotics during labour this time as if the two hour period is not observed I am treated as if I had not had them at all. I will however discuss where I will have observations after birth if I am positive.

This is of course my case and it shouldn't be treated as medical advice however please don't let them fool you into believing you have no say in this or that they don't have to discuss the risks of the antibiotics with you because they do. I would also look into AIMs and the NICE guidelines around birth and information on group B strep so you are fully informed. You may still chose to go ahead, but at least then its your informed choice as per the law and not just you being 'told' to do something.

 

[Momma89]

In the very beginning of my pregnancy I had a Uti that was strep b positive. So far it is staying away but my ob said he is skipping the swab and going right to just giving me antibiotics when I go into labor. I asked him does this status increase my chance of induction and he said no he is hoping I go into labor naturally and all goes well. He said they use iv pencillin usually during labor. I know I had that alot as a kid and no reaction so hopefully I'll be okay.

 

[Blah11]

Hey I didn’t know I had it until my waters broke at 33+5 and I had her the day after. The my swabbed me when they checked it it was amniotic fluid and when she was a day old, they told me I had group B strep and probably what caused my labour so early. My daughter had to have 5 days of IV antibiotics as her inflammation markers were high. I think it’s rotten they don’t check for it routinely as can be devastating x

 

[Blah11]

It really isn't super common. The bacteria lives in about 25% of healthy women in general, but GBS in pregnancy is pretty rare.

Without antibiotics your chances of passing it to baby are about 1 in 200
With antibiotics your chances are lessened to about 1 in 4000

Actually it's pretty common, I tested positive for it and my doctor explained that at some point in our lives everyone has this on their bodies. It's just having it in your vaginal area is when it becomes an issue of passing it along to your child.

Jadeybabe88 - just talk to your doctor and have them explain it to you, as well as options and what to do when you arrive at the hospital. Good luck to you!

That’s not quite true as it caused my premature labour.

 

[paintrider89]

I tested positive with my last pregnancy and managed to treat it with natural remedies in the weeks before labor started. I tested negative the week of the birth so no further treatment was needed.

Can I ask what you did to treat it?
I was positive with DS and had the antibiotics, but it was worse than labor. My entire arm started to hurt and cold and numb. It's hard to describe. But my arm was more sore than my lady bits for days after. I absolutely do NOT want to do that again.

 

[tankel]

Sorry took so long to respond. I was trying to find my original post with all the things I was trying that my MW recommended. I did test negative after two weeks of doing this nearly every day.

Anyway here it is:

Supplements:
I take Garden of Life - MY KIND Organics Amla Vitamin C 3 times a day. I take 4 sprays and chase it with a glass of water since C is water soluble and I don't want to burn my tummy. I take this kind, because the Vitamin C is derived from plants and is not from ascorbic acid, which makes it more potent and (I believe) more easily absorbed. I have the cheery flavor and it tastes REALLY good. Like candy.

I also take a eucalyptus and goldenseal capsule 3 times a day along with the strongest probiotic I could find in the store.

I started taking raw garlic. I take a clove a day. I usually cut it in half and just swallow it whole, but if you can stand mincing it up and taking it with honey, I think that's better. I can't do that as it always makes me

Finally, I bought a jar of raw kimchi and I eat a forkful every day (for the probiotics). My sister also makes kombucha and I have had a glass or two of that (even though I really hate it).

I did try to use a raw garlic clove (cut in half) vaginally but found it kind of (really) gross to get out later as I have so much CM now. I also have taken 2 probiotic capsules vaginally (I just stick them up there) and haven't found it to be messy at all. They gel capsules completely dissolve and there is nothing to fish out later.

I realize that this might be a lot of things, but as I am already 38 wks, I wanted to really super charge my body for the swab on Wed. I really dislike taking antibiotics and want to avoid at all costs, especially when I'm in labor.

 

[paintrider89]

Thank you!
I was thinking about starting probiotics this pregnancy, hoping to get a jump on any possible poo issues later (because that was miserable last time around) and I will look into the vitamin C.
I am a big garlic person, so that shouldn't to hard to get down. I will check our nutrition store for the C supplement.
I see you didn't start until late, but did your midwife say how long these could take? Like if I start at week 30 and keep going it may help be negative for the first GBS test?
I really want to avoid those stinking antibiotics.