group b strep positive :( any advice?

[mama.bear]

hi mama's
i just found out yesterday that i tested pos for GBS and this has really caught me off guard.. it's about the only aspect to pregnancy/birthing i haven't researched, so i suppose it's murphy's law.. *sigh....
i'm off to my next OB appt tomorrow morning and am going to ask if i can be retested next week.. have done some research on-Line since yesterday and found out that there can be lots of false-positives with the GBS test.. ALSO i believe there are some natural remedies that can be explored, which i am open to trying because i so don't want to be connected to an IV and not only that, ABX can be SOOOOOO harmful to babe & mama, killing all good bacteria leading to further complications down the road..
has anyone had any experience with this sort of situation? it's really got me down to be honest , as it caught me really off guard.. i've been totally healthy and strong thru-out my pregnancy, it's been rather uneventful TBH, and i'm trying not to get stressed out about the potential interventions that could arise from this..
any feedback or advice is greatly appreciated!! thanks in advance x

 

[silver_penny]

From what I have heard, the following remedy works miracles at clearing up GBS: take a clove of garlic before you go to bed at night and place it up your vagina. Make sure the garlic is whole and not crushed. Take it out in the morning and repeat for at least a week. As garlic is naturally anti-bacterial, it works great at killing any bad bacteria and doesn't have any side effects! I hope this helps

 

[Sophist]

GBS comes & goes in 4-6 week cycles. Since you are 36 weeks, I'd try natural remedies and then request another swab...echinachea, garlic, and vitamin C are all helpful. So is taking oral probiotics.

In labor, your chances of strep infection colonizing in baby are remote unless

-water has been broken for more than 24 hours
-you are running a fever in labor
-baby is a preemie.

 

[Drazic<3]

I have GBS too, and have been eating extra probiotics and vitamin C (red peppers is a great source) to try and help. I will be having the anti-biotics after much thoughtful research - they really arn't super harmful hun. The biggest risk is allergy, which most people will know about themselves anyway. So, don't panic if you do end up needing them

 

[venusrockstar]

It's not that big a deal hun. My OB told me that 1 in 4 women test positive for GBS. They just give you an IV with antibiotics during labour...I was fine.

 

[aob1013]

I had GBS, that apparantly contributed to by waters breaking and baby being delivered at 34 weeks. For me the safe arrival and healthiness of my baby was paramount and myself and Leni had the antibiotics/IV drip.
The drugs are not harmful whatsoever, they do something amazing.

 

[Sophist]

Just wanted to note-there *are* risks to the antibiotics. Antibiotics in labor caused a secondary fungal infection that my little newborn daughter had to fight hard for 3 months. It impacted her ability to eat, sleep, and it affected her growth. There haven't been long term effects, but it was traumatic for both of us and she had a pretty rough start at life. This is why I believe that antibiotics in labor definitely have their place--but that it shouldn't be such a routine "precaution" in situations that really don't necessitate their use.

There are potential benefits and risks to *every* choice. I think its important to be well educated on the risks, even if something is "routinely" done, so that you can truly make informed consent. Antibiotics are great in the right circumstances, and they do save lives. But that does not automatically mean they are harmless or that there are no risks involved.

aob1013--congrats on your new daughter!

 

[mama.bear]

aw thanks ladies! i really appreciate all the feedback - have been doing tonnes of research and had my dr's appt this am and feel better about it all.. i think part of my stress around it was due to some interesting mood/hormonal shifts the past cpl days, i really don't feel myself in some ways! i've not been sleeping well either and i KNOW that's also playing a part in my reactions to some things.
personally, i'm not so keen on taking ABX as i too know the 'potential' risks to both my babe and myself and i'm not much of an advocate of ABX anyways, so this feels a little out of alignment in some ways. my dr won't retest me so that's out, it's her policy and it's on my prenatal sheets that i'm GBS+.. hey ho...
i've already started upping my probiotic intake, as well as VitC and actually did the garlic clove trick last night and even tho i won't be retested, i'll feel better when labour begins knowing i did something natural for my body and my baby and who knows, might even pass on the ABX.. will see how i feel when the time comes.
thanks muchly, again, for your responses!!
bless x

 

[mama.bear]

I had GBS, that apparantly contributed to by waters breaking and baby being delivered at 34 weeks. For me the safe arrival and healthiness of my baby was paramount and myself and Leni had the antibiotics/IV drip.
The drugs are not harmful whatsoever, they do something amazing.

CONGRATS ON LENI!!!!!!
i read your saga in one massive thread and just wanted to say that it sure sounds as if your wee one is quite the warrior, you too! hope things are going well for you as you get to know leni and experience a new expanded family hooray!
thanks also for the feedback, so happy that everything unfolded well for you all!
bless x

 

[summer rain]

Just wanted to note-there *are* risks to the antibiotics. Antibiotics in labor caused a secondary fungal infection that my little newborn daughter had to fight hard for 3 months. It impacted her ability to eat, sleep, and it affected her growth. There haven't been long term effects, but it was traumatic for both of us and she had a pretty rough start at life. This is why I believe that antibiotics in labor definitely have their place--but that it shouldn't be such a routine "precaution" in situations that really don't necessitate their use.

There are potential benefits and risks to *every* choice. I think its important to be well educated on the risks, even if something is "routinely" done, so that you can truly make informed consent. Antibiotics are great in the right circumstances, and they do save lives. But that does not automatically mean they are harmless or that there are no risks involved.

aob1013--congrats on your new daughter!

The same problem happened with my eldest; he had such severe oral thrush from the antibiotics that no medication would shift it, in fact nystatin only made it worse, we had to sit it out for five months with both he and I in agony (because he passed this killer thrush onto me via nursing). In my case I didn't have group B strep but my waters broke more than 24 hours before giving birth so they insisted on the antibiotics for me anyway and then my son caught some other infection in the hospital which they had to give him more antibiotics for. You have to weigh up if the benefits outweigh the risks for you personally...

 

[Sophist]

aw thanks ladies! i really appreciate all the feedback - have been doing tonnes of research and had my dr's appt this am and feel better about it all.. i think part of my stress around it was due to some interesting mood/hormonal shifts the past cpl days, i really don't feel myself in some ways! i've not been sleeping well either and i KNOW that's also playing a part in my reactions to some things.
personally, i'm not so keen on taking ABX as i too know the 'potential' risks to both my babe and myself and i'm not much of an advocate of ABX anyways, so this feels a little out of alignment in some ways. my dr won't retest me so that's out, it's her policy and it's on my prenatal sheets that i'm GBS+.. hey ho...
i've already started upping my probiotic intake, as well as VitC and actually did the garlic clove trick last night and even tho i won't be retested, i'll feel better when labour begins knowing i did something natural for my body and my baby and who knows, might even pass on the ABX.. will see how i feel when the time comes.
thanks muchly, again, for your responses!!
bless x

Sorry to hear she won't retest you. Will she prescribe diflucan or another antifungal for you and baby right after birth to counter act the negative aspects of the abx? My midwife is suggesting that in case I do need abx in labor this should be our first defense. There are also probiotics that are safe for newborns.

Just wanted to note-there *are* risks to the antibiotics. Antibiotics in labor caused a secondary fungal infection that my little newborn daughter had to fight hard for 3 months. It impacted her ability to eat, sleep, and it affected her growth. There haven't been long term effects, but it was traumatic for both of us and she had a pretty rough start at life. This is why I believe that antibiotics in labor definitely have their place--but that it shouldn't be such a routine "precaution" in situations that really don't necessitate their use.

There are potential benefits and risks to *every* choice. I think its important to be well educated on the risks, even if something is "routinely" done, so that you can truly make informed consent. Antibiotics are great in the right circumstances, and they do save lives. But that does not automatically mean they are harmless or that there are no risks involved.

aob1013--congrats on your new daughter!

The same problem happened with my eldest; he had such severe oral thrush from the antibiotics that no medication would shift it, in fact nystatin only made it worse, we had to sit it out for five months with both he and I in agony (because he passed this killer thrush onto me via nursing). In my case I didn't have group B strep but my waters broke more than 24 hours before giving birth so they insisted on the antibiotics for me anyway and then my son caught some other infection in the hospital which they had to give him more antibiotics for. You have to weigh up if the benefits outweigh the risks for you personally...

Nystatin didn't work for us either (it's ineffective in 7 out of 10 cases!) and my daughters infection was so severe that it made it impossible to continue breastfeeding. We had to feed her with an eyedropper for several weeks because she couldn't even latch on a bottle. She had blood stains down the front of her sleepers, and still I couldn't get the doctor to change her prescription. Finally I took her to the ER and they said it was the worst case they had ever seen--Diflucan usually clears it up in 7 days, it took us 21 and three full courses of antifungals to get her healed up. What a nightmare--I'm sorry to hear you endured something similar!

 

[mama.bear]

aw thanks ladies! i really appreciate all the feedback - have been doing tonnes of research and had my dr's appt this am and feel better about it all.. i think part of my stress around it was due to some interesting mood/hormonal shifts the past cpl days, i really don't feel myself in some ways! i've not been sleeping well either and i KNOW that's also playing a part in my reactions to some things.
personally, i'm not so keen on taking ABX as i too know the 'potential' risks to both my babe and myself and i'm not much of an advocate of ABX anyways, so this feels a little out of alignment in some ways. my dr won't retest me so that's out, it's her policy and it's on my prenatal sheets that i'm GBS+.. hey ho...
i've already started upping my probiotic intake, as well as VitC and actually did the garlic clove trick last night and even tho i won't be retested, i'll feel better when labour begins knowing i did something natural for my body and my baby and who knows, might even pass on the ABX.. will see how i feel when the time comes.
thanks muchly, again, for your responses!!
bless x

Sorry to hear she won't retest you. Will she prescribe diflucan or another antifungal for you and baby right after birth to counter act the negative aspects of the abx? My midwife is suggesting that in case I do need abx in labor this should be our first defense. There are also probiotics that are safe for newborns.

Just wanted to note-there *are* risks to the antibiotics. Antibiotics in labor caused a secondary fungal infection that my little newborn daughter had to fight hard for 3 months. It impacted her ability to eat, sleep, and it affected her growth. There haven't been long term effects, but it was traumatic for both of us and she had a pretty rough start at life. This is why I believe that antibiotics in labor definitely have their place--but that it shouldn't be such a routine "precaution" in situations that really don't necessitate their use.

There are potential benefits and risks to *every* choice. I think its important to be well educated on the risks, even if something is "routinely" done, so that you can truly make informed consent. Antibiotics are great in the right circumstances, and they do save lives. But that does not automatically mean they are harmless or that there are no risks involved.

aob1013--congrats on your new daughter!

The same problem happened with my eldest; he had such severe oral thrush from the antibiotics that no medication would shift it, in fact nystatin only made it worse, we had to sit it out for five months with both he and I in agony (because he passed this killer thrush onto me via nursing). In my case I didn't have group B strep but my waters broke more than 24 hours before giving birth so they insisted on the antibiotics for me anyway and then my son caught some other infection in the hospital which they had to give him more antibiotics for. You have to weigh up if the benefits outweigh the risks for you personally...

Nystatin didn't work for us either (it's ineffective in 7 out of 10 cases!) and my daughters infection was so severe that it made it impossible to continue breastfeeding. We had to feed her with an eyedropper for several weeks because she couldn't even latch on a bottle. She had blood stains down the front of her sleepers, and still I couldn't get the doctor to change her prescription. Finally I took her to the ER and they said it was the worst case they had ever seen--Diflucan usually clears it up in 7 days, it took us 21 and three full courses of antifungals to get her healed up. What a nightmare--I'm sorry to hear you endured something similar!

sophist ~ thanks for the advice on having some diflucan prescribed! i never thought of that.. will ask at my appt next week. it really sounds like you and your daughter went thru quite a traumatic experience with that fungal infection! yikes... i sure hope that's not what's waiting ahead for us! i really appreciate the tip and will def bring it up at my appt on wed!
cheers x

 

[vicky84]

i got severe thrush about 3/4 times from anti biotics including the ones in labour for GBS - i am being tested at 36 week as my labour wasnt long enough to get them in me and i had 2 stay for 3 days.
This time im trying to avoid that, and if its a fast labour i could end up witha home birth anyway!

 

[2nd time mum]

I have had this in both my pregnancies. Unfortunately I appear to be a carrier.

With my 1st I didn't know until my waters had broke and got tested at the hospital, that was 14 years ago and I don't think they tested earlier for it. I had IV antibiotics and when my eldest was born he was also on a drip with antibiotics and once we left hospital we were both on them for a week.

With my 2nd I tested positive and was told from the start that I would be on the antibiotics again. When he was born I hadn't passed the infection to him and he didn't need antibiotics when we left hospital, or me.

We were lucky that both my boys are fine and no problems whatsoever afterwards.

Sorry I don't know of anything else that works except for the antibiotics. I know that you can be tested for Strep B and can be positive and then get tested a few weeks after and be OK but the further into your pregnancy I think they will just try to prescribe antibiotics.

Good luck x

 

[abibatou]

I had my 1st baby 4 months ago. I tested positive for GBS from a swab for thrush. I had never heard of it and was planning a homebirth (they wouldn't give me antibiotics at home) so with only a couple of weeks to go till the birth I researched everything i could on it and in the end decided to continue with my home birth and not recieve the antibiotics. The birth was absolutely fine, baby wasn't distressed atall and I managed without pain relief (just had a tiny bit of gas and air at the end but didn't like it) - plus I didn't tear - so everything was fantastic. And then about half an hour afterwards when i'd had a bath the midwife said she thought my little man was breathing a bit fast and his temperature was a bit low so said we should go to hospital just to make sure we were both ok. They said these were possible symptoms of infection. At hospital they said my white blood count was a bit high so gave me antibiotics and gave the bubba some to be on the safe side whilst doing tests. We ended up in there for 5 days as they found a slight shadow on my little boys lung which they said could be a chest infection. However after 12 hours of my baby receiving a top up of oxegen they said he was absolutely fine and sent him back up to my room where I could keep him in bed with me and I was able to breatfeed him immediately and he is now a very bouncy, big, strong healthy boy. No one mentioned the GBS all the way through my visit to the hospital and it says nothing about it in his notes and when I tried to ask whether it was or wasn't caused by GBS no one was able to tell me??? But my midwife said I should go into hospital in the future and have the antibiotics regardless just to be on the safe side. Its such an unsure thing, on the one hand I never want to see another one of my babies going through the trauma of having a drip put in or have to spend so much time in hospital, but on the other I loved giving birth in my home and I know my baby benefited from how relaxed I felt throughout and I also know he is now absolutely fine and my mothers instinct tells me nothing may have even been wrong with him in the beginning (my sisters baby was born in hospital and was also breathing strangely for first 24 hours but she had not been tested for GBS so they just sent her home!!!) so I guess the best you can do is educate yourself on it and make an informed decision based on your own feelings so that whatever the outcome, you know you did what you felt was best for baby and you. xxx

 

[GoogilyBear]

I am group b too :/ and i am petrified of needles.. so the thought of having a drip is always dawning on my mind.. but ive told my midwife if they want me to have a drip, they will have to phisically pin me down, as they wont get it anywhere near me.

So i wont be having the antibiotics at all :/ x

 

[cassiexx]

I had grp B strep, i didnt know about natural remedies at the time but would advise trying.

Just make sure you get to the hospital in time to have the drugs given to you a few hours before the birth and you should have no problems.

 

[ChristinaRN]

Personally, I'd take the baby with thrush over the dead baby.....but that's just me. Yes, it's blunt and harsh but babies who contract GBS during delivery can have horrible outcomes including death....which is not as rare as one might think in this wonderful world of high technology medicine. Spend a few minutes on the losses board and you will find moms who have lost babies to GBS (mostly from not being diagnosed and thus not getting the antibiotics). When you think about something that you *think* might harm your baby talk with your doctor and weight the risks with the benefits. Like I said, I'd take the risk of oral thrush over the risk of losing my child after 9 months of trying to protect it!

 

[aob1013]

Just wanted to note-there *are* risks to the antibiotics. Antibiotics in labor caused a secondary fungal infection that my little newborn daughter had to fight hard for 3 months. It impacted her ability to eat, sleep, and it affected her growth. There haven't been long term effects, but it was traumatic for both of us and she had a pretty rough start at life. This is why I believe that antibiotics in labor definitely have their place--but that it shouldn't be such a routine "precaution" in situations that really don't necessitate their use.

There are potential benefits and risks to *every* choice. I think its important to be well educated on the risks, even if something is "routinely" done, so that you can truly make informed consent. Antibiotics are great in the right circumstances, and they do save lives. But that does not automatically mean they are harmless or that there are no risks involved.

aob1013--congrats on your new daughter!

I had a son

There are risks to everything of course, but the risks/complications are miniscule.