Group B Strep

[kirstybumx3]

I've just got back from a week holiday to a letter telling me my high vaginal swabs have come back positive for group b strep. The letter basically says that there's no immediate reason to be concerned but I'll have to go to hospital as soon as labour begins and have IV antibiotics until I give birth. But they also included a really scary booklet about GBS that gives some frightening death statistics in newborns! So I've done want any irrational mother would do and gone straight to DR Google. Now I am panicking
Does anyone have experience with group B strep? What should I expect? Is it really as scary as it sounds. I was so hoping things would be 'normal' this time around but it seems not.

 

[pinkpassion]

I'm a group B strep carrier also. I'm also considered high colonized so at greater risk than those not highly colonized. Both my children have been fine. You just have to be diligent on getting antibiotics in labor and they will monitor your newborn! Also it is HIGHLY advised that you don't have membrane sweeps or stretches towards the end of pregnancy as this can introduce the gbs bacteria and can cause issues. That said my first ob when pregnant with my dd1 didn't follow this and gave me 3 stretch/sweeps at 37/38/39 weeks with dd1 and nothing happened, but once I switched Obs and she told me how risky it was and Dr Google confirmed I will never risk that again! (Granted with dd1 I didn't know any bettet)!!

 

[IchigoMewMew]

I don't know if i have it high up but my episiotomy scar teeted positive for group b strep a couple of weeks after birth. (Didn't know i had it until then) DD didn't catch it i think the risk is very low from what I've read but would be very serious if the baby did catch it and develop early onset sepsis. DD did end up on IV antibiotics as a precaution because she didn't feed well and was sleepy and jaundiced with slightly raised inflammatory markers but her blood cultures were negative she was just exhausted from a difficult birth and struggling with a tongue tie for first 2 days. As long as you follow the advice regarding antibiotics you should be fine it all seems to be to prevent a rare worst case scenario which is quite easily preventable. What are the statistics in the booklet? according to nhs/nct only 1 in 5 ladies carry gbs, 1 in 2000 babies will catch it and 1 in 10 of those babies will sadly succumb to sepsis. In my hospital there are around 3500 births per year (which i think is quite low) so in my hospital statistically speaking 1.5 babies a year will catch group b strep, so only one per decade will pass away. That 1 in 10 did sound scary until i worked it out (i hope i did it right, mental arithmetic at 5:30am whilst BFing a 3 week old isn't likely to end well lol)

 

[SonnyH]

I'm a carrier. Although it's something that comes and goes throughout your life. I had a swab 3 years ago and had it, then a year ago and it had gone, then at the start of this pregnancy it was back! I'm due a final swab at 36 weeks to double check but my midwife has said as it's coming and going, they'll most likely air on the side of caution. It's just something to keep an eye on, you'll need antibiotics through labour which limits your birthing options. You'll have to go to a labour ward and my hospital won't let you use the pool. You can walk about but you are attached to a bag of antibiotics! At birth and afterwards, you and baby will be closely monitored for any signs and given antiobiotics if needed. Don't worry, statistically the risks are low so long as managed. Even then, a lot of women give birth not knowing they have it. The NHS refuse to test pregnant women for it bar a not very accurate urine test at 8 weeks or if you've previously been known to have it. The vast majority of their babies do not catch it!

 

[xdxxtx]

I'm a carrier, too. I don't know why they make it sound so scary. Even if you don't get antibiotics, the chance of anything going wrong is super slim. Possible, but slim. I don't even worry about it. I've had 4 babies so far as a carrier and didn't get the antibiotics with my first, who's perfect and the healthiest of all of my kids. No big deal. It's very, very common.

 

[kirstybumx3]

Thank you ladies. It's good to hear about it being so rare for there to be serious complications. I still can't help but worry though. DS1 was premature and I wonder if GBS may have been the reason now, I was never checked for it during pregnancy with him though.
I was already told I'll be getting HVS every 4 weeks and scans every 4 weeks after 20 weeks this pregnancy but my consultant is out of the country til I'm 28 weeks and apparently there are no others (there are!!) so none of that has been sorted. I pushed the hospital myself for the swabs and ended up getting packs to do them at home and send them off myself. I'm hoping I can push them into sorting out the scans too even if it's just for more peace of mind. I'm feeling so worried today even though rationally I know I shouldn't be

 

[xdxxtx]

I'd be scared, too, if I'd already had a preemie, but I've had Group B Strep with all of my babies, and the earliest (my oldest) was 10 days early, and other three were 1 day before, the day of, and one day after the due date. However, take probiotics. I like Garden of Life brand. Probiotics are known to clear the GBS, which might help ease your mind, but since you are already prone to GBS, it can come back once you discontinue the probiotics.

 

[SonnyH]

Oh that's interesting about the probiotics. At my second swab where the GBS had gone, I'd been taking BioKult for a good 9 months. I ran out and wasn't sure if I could take them in pregnancy so I'd been off them for a couple months when the next swab came back positive..! Maybe that was why.. I've been taking them for the latter half of pregnancy once I could stomach taking pills again so it'll be interesting to see what comes back at 36 weeks!

Try not to worry Kirsty, I'm sure everything will be fine! I have days where I feel all worried about things but then I feel ok the next day! Try to relax and have a nice bath or treat yourself to a nice pudding with dinner and go easy on yourself finding out there is something else to consider in labour will take a little while to get your head around!

 

[Xpecta]

Thanks for starting this thread. I have it this pregnancy. I don't know if I've had it before. They already gave me antibiotics though. I know that I was supposed to get it during labour, but I'll be having a scheduled c section. So I guess they needed to deal with it now?

 

[SonnyH]

Thanks for starting this thread. I have it this pregnancy. I don't know if I've had it before. They already gave me antibiotics though. I know that I was supposed to get it during labour, but I'll be having a scheduled c section. So I guess they needed to deal with it now?

My midwife mentioned giving me antibiotics as I tested positive early on but she said in the UK, the general line of thought has changed due to antibiotic resistance problems. She said if she gave me them at 8 weeks, it would clear it up but then chances are, it would come back within a month or so. So now generally they don't treat it during pregnancy but it varies across the country. I'd imagine there is slightly less risk with a section? As the bacteria is on your cervix and baby isn't passing through it? Could be wrong though! Maybe they have you the antibiotics as a precaution in case you do go into natural labour before your c section?

Strange thing, to have some bacteria just living there! Still, it's better to know and be prepared! The NHS are very anti providing Strep B support, it annoys me. They claim it's from research & statistics but basically they have no money

 

[pinkpassion]

Thanks for starting this thread. I have it this pregnancy. I don't know if I've had it before. They already gave me antibiotics though. I know that I was supposed to get it during labour, but I'll be having a scheduled c section. So I guess they needed to deal with it now?

If they found it in your urine culture they will treat with a round of antibiotics then as standard of medicine, even if you are not symptomatic of bacteriuria. And you will receive antibiotics immediately before they begin your incision during your c-section!!

 

[sil]

This is nothing to worry about! Try not to stress. My obgyn says that group b strep is actually found in 25% of women - so 1 out of 4 women having babies have it (and 99% of babies are born healthy).

I did not have it with DS1. I did with DS2. I was advised that antibiotics would be administered during labor. However, I had an extremely quick labor, arrived at the hospital by ambulance, and had the baby less than 15 minutes after arriving. They never even got an IV in my arm let alone antibiotics.

I stayed in the hospital for 2 nights just so they could keep an eye on the baby and make sure he was fine from the exposure (and he was perfectly healthy, no issues at all). We went home like normal and that was that!

 

[Mummafrog]

About a third of women have the group B strep bacteria as one of thousands of bacterial colonies in their vagina, it's very common, the bacterial colony comes and goes naturally and a test that is positive for group B strep is only valid for a 2 week period because you can test negative the next time you are swabbed.
Of the third of women that have the bacteria, less than 2% of babies will be born with ANY complications from group B strep and if caught early enough it can be treated with antibiotics.
The reason why some babies seem susceptible to the bacteria is completely unknown and hopefully soon we'll get a research breakthrough!

There is a debate about group B strep because with what we currently know, the only way to fully cover treatment for it would be to give roughly a third of women antibiotics in labour which is basically unfeasable and would have a negative impact on the health of both the mothers and babies, 28% of whom wouldn't need it :/ It's a really difficult one.

As the others have said, if you do have the bacteria (although you may not when you actually go into labour and you could choose to get re-tested closer to the time if you would prefer) then the management is simply that they advise you to have antibiotics in labour, there is no risk at all until your waters break so they will manage it depending on how your early labour is going. If you get the antibiotics the research shows that the prevention rates are brilliant and even if somehow you didn't manage to get them in time, it's a very low transmission rate anyway and they would be keeping a close observation on your baby, so try not to worry about it too much *hugs*
Ladies give birth on the birth centre or even at home while having antibiotics for their group b strep here in the UK so it doesn't make you super high risk or anything xx

 

[kirstybumx3]

About a third of women have the group B strep bacteria as one of thousands of bacterial colonies in their vagina, it's very common, the bacterial colony comes and goes naturally and a test that is positive for group B strep is only valid for a 2 week period because you can test negative the next time you are swabbed.
Of the third of women that have the bacteria, less than 2% of babies will be born with ANY complications from group B strep and if caught early enough it can be treated with antibiotics.
The reason why some babies seem susceptible to the bacteria is completely unknown and hopefully soon we'll get a research breakthrough!

There is a debate about group B strep because with what we currently know, the only way to fully cover treatment for it would be to give roughly a third of women antibiotics in labour which is basically unfeasable and would have a negative impact on the health of both the mothers and babies, 28% of whom wouldn't need it :/ It's a really difficult one.

As the others have said, if you do have the bacteria (although you may not when you actually go into labour and you could choose to get re-tested closer to the time if you would prefer) then the management is simply that they advise you to have antibiotics in labour, there is no risk at all until your waters break so they will manage it depending on how your early labour is going. If you get the antibiotics the research shows that the prevention rates are brilliant and even if somehow you didn't manage to get them in time, it's a very low transmission rate anyway and they would be keeping a close observation on your baby, so try not to worry about it too much *hugs*
Ladies give birth on the birth centre or even at home while having antibiotics for their group b strep here in the UK so it doesn't make you super high risk or anything xx

Thank you so much this has really reassured me seeing it wrote like that.

 

[lilmisscaviar]

My first two children I didn't get group B strep but I did have it in my last pregnancy. To tell the truth, I think I somehow got it from a D&C I had before I became pregnant with my rainbow DD because I kept getting UTIs caused by a high colonization of GBS bacteria. Apparently GBS doesn't usually cause UTIs unless it is in high numbers and it kept reoccurring because the antibiotics they gave me didn't completely eliminate it. After several rounds of antibiotics it did eventually take it away, but then it reoccurred during pregnancy for some reason, except in a much smaller amount this time. I had to have antibiotics through an IV during labor. It took about an hour to go through the whole bag of antibiotics and then an hour later she was born. She was my healthiest and smartest baby, no issues whatsoever. My midwife told me that the chances of the baby being infected with GBS was low unless your water has been broken for quite some time, over 24 hours I think, so unless they go naturally I would wait as long as you possibly can to have them artificially ruptured. I will warn you though that the doctors and nurses will be coming in quite often to check on the baby because it is standard to any baby born from a GBS carrying mother.