April Munchkins 2013- enjoying our wonderful babies!

[TeAmo]

Wow, could you have GBS one pregnancy and not another then?

Yep you can. My friend tested negative first baby and positive second baby. That's her last baby so no more GBS tests to compare. But they test you every single pregnancy. I know you can also do things to lower GBS like eat fermented foods and stuff like that I'm not bothering, I will feel better now with the antibiotics knowing that she's safe. I'm so surprised they don't even test in the UK. My MW said normal protocol here is that you have to come to the hospital right away as soon as your waters break to get on the antibiotics and if you're not contracting they start you on induction drugs. I feel like that's quite serious action which is why I'm surprised they don't even test there. Anyway, my MW are a bit more laid back and said yeah if your waters break without contractions you need to come in and get started on antibiotics but if I'm contracting and progressing I can labor at home for a bit. Although having said all that, the chances of a baby being infected if their mother is GBS positive is only 1 in 200 which is quite low... but if you get tested and are positive and are treated with antibiotics its 1 in 4000... I feel better about those stats personally.

Vicyi she is so little and lovely! Thinking good thoughts and hope she is out of NICU and with her mama at home soon!

TeAmo, glad you are back and will be able to be on more frequently soon- yay for mat leave!!

Normally here if your waters break they ask you to come in so they can confirm they have gone. They then send you home to wait for contractions for 24-48 hours. If no contractions then you begin induction. if you get contractions naturally they dont admit you to hospital until you are in active labour which means at least 4 cms dilated unless they can tell you are in need of pain relief.

However, there are variations to this of course. Last time round for me my waters went, they check me as above and thought there was meconium in them. I was to be induced asap that night. However when induction was about to start the midwife was sure my waters were running clear. The meconium had been misdiagnosed. They still kept me in for 48 hours instead of sending me home just in case. I was induced two days later via drip.

oh I forgot to add, at no point are you tested for GBS. They only detect it normally if they have taken a sample for any reason and its picked up. My friend was GBS positive. They were meant to give her antibiotics during labour and didnt. Her and baby were readmitted to hospital two days after birth because they were both sick.

 

[kirstabelle]

That's what I mean. Everything is the same as what you said above here, but only if you are GBS negative. Then you have to go straight in and get the antibiotics and start being induced. When they said that to me I thought that was pretty aggressive, so obviously they think it is pretty serious. Which is why I'm surprised they don't test there for GBS. It just seems like opposite land that in one place you don't even get tested and in the other it seems serious

 

[TeAmo]

yeah exactly. They'll never know here that you have it before waters go though. rubbish.

 

[doggylover]

My SIL had a friend whose waters went, and she rang and was told she could stay at home, which she did. She stayed until she was 9cm, and when she went in her baby ended up being still born because she was gbs positive and because they don't test here nobody knew. And last week I heard a spry about a woman whose baby boy was born and contracted meningitis because she had been gbs positive and nobody knew. It's scary. I know it's rare, and my brother (Dr) has reassured me it is very unlikely anything will go wrong if I even am gbs pos, but knowing those two stories it's hard not to worry.

And when I asked my mw about testing she said it isn't done, and they wouldn't treat you if you got the test done privately because it's not nhs policy here. Oh brilliant, thanks for the top notch care nhs. So glad I pay my taxes for this....

 

[Steph82]

TeAmo, good to have you back!!
I'm not sure how you managed to read all the backlog lol... I would have skipped to the last 2 days... Especially considering some of the ramblings we come up with on here
Sarah, can you test privately and have your brother prescribe you antibiotics if you test positive? I know the chances are slim, but why take the risk?

Over here they are extra careful with everything, because they are so worried about lawsuits.

My aunt died after childbirth 14 years ago because of a streptococcus infection that was encapsulated in her uterus. When she had her c-section, it was released into the body and no one bothered to test. This was back in Germany but I still can't believe they wouldn't try antibiotics if there is a fever after birth

 

[doggylover]

I think they only start the antibiotics when you are in labour, and he isn't in my hospitals labour ward so he wouldn't be able to, otherwise we definitely would as he enjoys a bit of home medicating

At least I have the knowledge that as a FTM I will be kept in at least 24 hours so hopefully if either of us starts to feel unwell it'll be treated ASAP.

Ugh, that feeling when you eat a whole pile of sweets and your teeth feel about easy to crumble...I have that. And the baby is going bananas on the sugar high

 

[Steph82]

I think they only start the antibiotics when you are in labour, and he isn't in my hospitals labour ward so he wouldn't be able to, otherwise we definitely would as he enjoys a bit of home medicating

At least I have the knowledge that as a FTM I will be kept in at least 24 hours so hopefully if either of us starts to feel unwell it'll be treated ASAP.

Ugh, that feeling when you eat a whole pile of sweets and your teeth feel about easy to crumble...I have that. And the baby is going bananas on the sugar high

Did it make you happy enough to induce labor???
If not... Eat more!!!!

 

[ukgirl23]

The antibiotics as far as I'm aware have to run by drip for a minimum of 5 hours so if your baby comes before 5 hours are completed he or she has to stay for another 24 hours for tests and further antibiotics. Scary!
My waters with Lucas went 3 days before I had him, They went but I didn't have strong enough contractions until a day or 2 later, they kept sending me home after testing negative for GBS so we waited home and they told us to come back if nothing has happened after the 3rd day and they will induce me with the drip, I ended up going in the night before and only just making it up the stairs and into bed before he come out. It was too late for anything. We had to stay for 3 days in intensive care to monitor for infection because when your waters have gone infections are likely to happen.

I don't understand how they say when your waters have gone you shouldnt get into water, just shower, but you can give birth in a birthing pool??? In Norway I opted for the pool but 1 I got there too late and 2 my waters had gone so was refused. But here it seems on OBEM they can deliver in the pool :/

I'm getting nervous now after being in the delivery suit today and seeing all the equipment, it's more.... clinical..... than I'm used to. I feel like I might die during labour, I know that's stupid and probably down to hormones but omg they had CPR buttons on the beds and lap pads! :/ scary stuff!!

doggylover it's hard to ignore the horror stories during pregnancy isnt it! I agree about the NHS, they should pay for the test to be done, they do so many other less important tests why miss out one of the most important???

steph I'm glad they are extra careful where you are xx

I just ate a whole tub of fudge brownie b&js mmmmm it was amazaballs

 

[LittleSpy]

I was positive for GBS with Maisie and was really surprised when they tested me again this pregnancy. I was under the impression once a carrier, always a carrier, and my OB confirmed she agrees. But it's protocol to test every time. She said if I test negative this time, it's my choice to have antibiotics or not but we agree I'll have them regardless because just because I test negative at 36 weeks doesn't mean I won't be positive again by the time baby is born. Despite this discussion, I still had to have the test.

Here they just said they want 4 hours for the antibiotics. Had my first labor been natural and started at home, I would've gone to the hospital (based on my level of discomfort) at least 5-6 hours before she was born. It can be different every time, for sure, but I feel like they'll have plenty of times to get the antibiotics in me even with laboring at home as long as I'd like.

I realized I wasn't clear. Just because you test negative doesn't mean you're not a carrier. You could test negative at 36 weeks and have the bacteria present again by the time you deliver. But I think the chances of complications even if you are positive are very, very small. Just good to prevent them if they can. My OB said "It would really make more sense to do a rapid results GBS test when you come to the hospital in labor..." Then proceeded to say those tests aren't accurate or don't exist.

 

[ukgirl23]

well they do exist because I had my GBS test in Norway when I went into assessment before delivery suit and got my results back within the hour. I think it depends on if your hospital has the labs to process that test or not.
Usually if you test negative it's not really necessary to retest for 5 more weeks but yeh it can still change.

 

[kirstabelle]

I think its terrible they won't give you antibiotics even if you go and do your own test! Fine in they don't want to pay for it, but you should be allowed to opt to pay for it yourself if that is what you want. You couldn't really bring your own antibiotics though as I'm pretty sure they have to be IV antibiotics for this. Since there is the time limit and all I don't think oral antibiotics would be quick enough. My hospital does 4 hrs as well, but my MW said essentially what your doctor said Little Spy that as long as I am having contractions then I can stay home and they will monitor by phone based on how I am progressing and tell me when to come in. The doula we have is also an apprentice home birth midwife, so I feel pretty good that they will all get me to the hospital in time to safely get antibiotics. They keep you in for 48hrs here so if I did somehow manage to not get the antibiotics 4 hrs before then we would be there anyway for tests and any other treatment we might need. I also read the same thing Little Spy just said about how you can test negative after, and I think even if I test negative next pregnancy I will still want the antibiotics as well. Those stories about mamas and babies getting sick are so frightening, I wouldn't want to risk it

I asked if I could still go in the tub and everything and MW said yes definitely. I will be on antibiotics anyway, so I can see why it would be allowed for me. Maybe it is related to how they clean the pools and things? Like if your waters broke you couldn't get in a public swimming pool (or a ball pit ) but the pools and tubs at the hospitals and birth centers must be kept very clean I would imagine

Returned the car seat today and sent the car seat adapters back to the place they came from to be switched with the new ones I need now. Getting things checked off the list every day! At this point though its all really minor things that wouldn't actually matter if they weren't done before baby gets here. But I still feel really good checking the things off. I assume that is related to my nesting brain

 

[doggylover]

I am now shutting my ears (eyes?!) to all of this scary labour talk. At 13 days away from my due date (and totally desperate for lo to get here) I am still in denial about the whole thing!!

Steph: sadly the sweets did not put me into labour- must get straight back onto the chocolate!! They did give lo enough energy that I thought he/she was gonna burst out through the belly button though!

 

[ooSweetPea]

I was allowed to labor in tub after my waters broke - and since I went into labor before getting swabbed I got the antibiotics too. As long as I didn't get the IV site wet (was in my hand) the midwife was fine with me getting in the tub

 

[ReadytoMum]

Welcome back TeAmo!

The GBS testing is pretty routine here... I'll be tested for it in the next few weeks sometime. My Dr. explained that they don't do anything about it now, they just need to know if it's positive to start antibiotics once labour starts, at least 4 hours before baby is born. Thankfully it's all covered under our healthcare system too, so it's not an out of pocket expense!

My plan to go shopping today to get stuff for my hospital bag was totally thwarted. I had a coffee date this morning with a "mom-to-be" from the forum I signed up for, and then I had to go pick up DH's race kit for the St. Paddy's Day 5km Race tomorrow. It took me 45 MINUTES to find the freaking pick-up location. So I'm just wandering around outside up and down the road (while it's snowing) and then wandering around lost inside the PATH system (like an underground tunnel system that runs all over downtown with shops etc. in it) and then back outside again. By the time I finally found it I was ready to have a total meltdown. So I bought some Cheetos at the drug store and went home to have a nap instead of finishing my errands.

I went out to see a movie tonight though, and that was fun. We went to see Oz The Great and Powerful. It was very enjoyable, although LO was doing some rather intense acrobatics in there which were not so appreciated!

 

[stmw]

Hey all - just a quick post - im off to the hospital to be checked as little Lexi hasnt really moved much since yesterday.

They told me to keep an eye on her movements as shes going to be small so I better be safe than sorry.

Hope your all well xxx

 

[kealz194]

Hey all - just a quick post - im off to the hospital to be checked as little Lexi hasnt really moved much since yesterday.

They told me to keep an eye on her movements as shes going to be small so I better be safe than sorry.

Hope your all well xxx

Good luck Hun hope all is ok with lexi and she is just being naughty making mummy worry! Let us know how u get on x

 

[ukgirl23]

good luck today stmw hope she's just having a lazy day and perks up when you get on the monitor xxxx

 

[LittleSpy]

well they do exist because I had my GBS test in Norway when I went into assessment before delivery suit and got my results back within the hour. I think it depends on if your hospital has the labs to process that test or not.
Usually if you test negative it's not really necessary to retest for 5 more weeks but yeh it can still change.

My OB said they aren't accurate enough to rely on routinely.

 

[LittleSpy]

Hey all - just a quick post - im off to the hospital to be checked as little Lexi hasnt really moved much since yesterday.

They told me to keep an eye on her movements as shes going to be small so I better be safe than sorry.

Hope your all well xxx

Thinking of you!

 

[Cherrybump]

Just little update for me

Im now 37 weeks today hooray xxx