Warning/advice to you all

[lushious09]

Hey i thought id post this thread as it could save your babys life...

I was diagnosed with Group B Strep ... for those who dont know what this is it is a bacteria that naturally lives in your gut but can at times cause an infection that can be serious/life threatning for the baby during labour if not caught and treated. There is no vaccine to prevent this as of yet and catching it through swab tests is very very difficult as it comes and goes!

It took me 5 swab tests and constant persistance at doctors and midwifes till i found out i had it... every time my swabs would come back clear! then today i got the news i had it.

If i have it again at 36 weeks and it is found in my urine sample... then i will have to have an IV feeding me antibiotics through labour this will prevent the infection passing on to baby... it must be administrated atleast 4 hours before baby goes into last stage of labour (before it passes the cervix and comes into contact with the bacteria inside the vagina)

Now im telling you all this because it has no symptoms and can go unidentefied and the results if you have it and baby dosnt recieve the antibiotics could carry the risk that baby will obtain mennigitus, phemmonia, or a serious defect.

It is not a standard test they offer in the uk (due to it been there one min and gone the next) i would strongly suggest that everyone at 36 weeks has a high vaginal swab taken! 1 in 3 pregnant women will have this and so many have no idea! if u r clear at 36 weeks u may not need an IV but if u prove positive then it could save your baby!

They really need to asses this better if it wasnt for me bugging the doctors and midwifes id never have known! i hope i havnt scared anyone im just so lucky they found it and i hope others will have the same luck! for more info on this there is a site called GBSS. org

id appreciate ur thoughts and experiences on this

 

[emmajayne]

I have this too. I had iv antibiotics with my daughter and think well am pretty sure she had something to and then she was fine

Thank you for sharing

 

[calais]

I had gbs with my first. Here in australia we are routinely tested at 36weeks ( i think they should do this everywhere). I had my iv during the labour and we were both fine.

I was tested at 31weeks this time, only because i was being checked if my waters were leaking. I wasnt positive at the time but will be tested again at 36weeks. The only thing that worries me if it is positive is if i have a shorter labour. With my first i was only in active labour for 7hrs and i heard the 2nd time is sometimes faster!!

 

[lushious09]

good to know your babys were all fine! midwife has put my mind at ease today but im still mad at the doctors for missing this!!! hope all works out ok for u xxx

 

[mimmymoo]

omg ... something else to worry about!
1 in 3 will have it? why on earth is it not offered as a routine test
so who should we ask gp or mw and will they be happy to offer the test or something we need to insist on?

 

[gumb69]

thanks for letting us know about that.
do you ask your gp or consultant, why don't they test routinely for it?
do you mind me asking why did you ask to be tested? Did you think you had it, or was it just to rule it out?

 

[aliss]

I am GBS positive too. It is a standard test at 37 weeks here in Canada. I was a little surprised to learn that it is not standard in other countries. Good for you for being so diligent.

 

[lushious09]

It is not standardly tested in the uk because you can have it one week and not the next ... so there is no point in testing till close to labour as it may not be present when they do and even if it is... antibiotics are a waste of time as it will on spread from the gut again...

It is not an std nothing you do can give you it... everyone has this bacteria but for 1 in 3 pregnant women it can cause infection.

Now it is VERY rare that your baby will become ill its just IF it happens it can be severe... BUT if they discover it you will be given antibiotics through IV as to avoid any chance/risk of it passing to your newborn.

Try not to worry have a word with your midwife if you have any concerns

Like i said i had over 8 swabs and nothing was picked up it was just through persistance they found it as it happend to be active when i had my last swab x

 

[FierceAngel]

i remember being worried about gbs with luisa can i ask what made you persist and get so many tests?

 

[lushious09]

i was experiencing odd vaginal discharge and 2bh there still not sure its the GBS that caused it as it never showed up on any other tests...

But yea after finding out i was pregnant i noticed a lime cordial coloured type discharge... there was no smell no itch in fact it was totaly normal just a watered down greeny yellow colour... i went to the docs had swabs totaly clear no sti nothing... went again as i had thrush at the time and asked them to be thouragh (sp) with the tests and all that was found was said thrush... i still wasnt happy so i talked to midwife about it and she said well we will do another swab just in case and my results yet again came back negative...(well so i thought) the doctor just didnt mention the gbs to me it was my midwife who bothered telling me! ... ive had swab tests time and time before aswell due to just been paranoid all the time and nothing!

im thankful they found it though

 

[amygwen]

Wow, good for you to keep being persistent!

The GBS test is extremely important, I'm surprised it's not a routine test in the UK as it can cause severe problems if not treated!!

 

[flubdub]

Thankyou, I will be mentioning this when I first see my midwife. Im a little concerned that I am having my 3rd baby, and this is the first I have heard of Group B Strep!

 

[lushious09]

i had never heard of it either hun... i find it so bizzar how something that is naturally in your body can cause such issues x

 

[angelpuss]

This is something that my niece told me about. She had a baby last year, and because she's diabetic she had to go in at 37 wks to be induced. As it turns out, she had GBS and at 5 days old her little boy was diagnosed with meningitis. Luckily he was still in hospital at the time as he wasn't taking enough milk in, so they caught it very quickly and were able to treat it.

He came home when he was 8 weeks old and is now a perfectly healthy and very happy 10 month old with no side-effects from the menigitis whatsoever, but it was a very stressful time for everyone which could have been easily avoided had she been tested.

She's going to remind me when I get close to 37 weeks to ask to be tested. It is shocking that it isn't done as a routine test though.

 

[lushious09]

i totaly agree with you hun... but what happens if they test you and it comes back as no growth... yet you suddenly get the growth a week later? it would have been a waste of nhs money and this is what it comes down too... but i agree they should make it a regulation to inform every person on this and have them given the choice to be checked at 37 weeks x

 

[Dee_H]

I tested positive for this with my DD...They do the test later on in pregnancy and is part of your prenantal care here. I was given and IV with antibiotics...no problems with my DD.

 

[suzib76]

i had it with Jack - discovered at 10 days PP (swab taken at 5) and i was put on antibiotics but jack was fine so had nothing
with lana i was tested at 37 weeks and it was clear, she was born at 38+4 and i tested positive then again after the birth i had antibiotics but baby was fine and had nothing

 

[velvetina]

Glad you found out hun, well done for persisting. I know only too well the dangers of this condition and 5 months after having my daughter (my 3rd baby) I still cannot get out of my head how close we came to losing her.

I developed chorioamnionitits probably as a result of having undiagnosed strep b. My waters went just before 37 weeks and this saved my dd life. In the 24 hours following this I noticed a lack of movement and took myself back in that night, where she was delivered by emergency c section the next morning needing full resuscitation by the crash team and an Apgar of 0, the resus summary still makes me cry. I found out all sorts of things following our week stay in transitional care, not least how very close we came to not bringing her home, not many babies survive with that apgar score. Although I had been swabbed when going in to be checked after my waters went the results were not back and were not immediate, so we had no idea.

I wish you all the best hun, you can enjoy the rest of your pg informed and thank goodness. x

 

[Hard_working]

In the UK Mums aren't offered GBS testing routinely in pregnancy, sadly. Although GBS carriage can come and go, research has shown that the result of a sensitive test (not often available at NHS hospitals) is very predictive for 5 weeks, so if you want to be tested it's best to do it after 35 weeks and get a sensitive test.

There's information about GBS testing in the UK on the Group B Strep Support website https://www.gbss.org.uk/test

 

[1four1cooking]

I don't live in the UK but find it odd that they don't test for it. Having a baby while infected with Group B can cause eye and lung problems. My cousin had it and she was given antibiotics and had a normal delivery and healthy baby.