Home birthing and strep B- whoes don it or plans too?

[ohiomommy1122]

I have been Strep b pos for 2 of my babies all hospital births my last was as close to being a homebirth at a hospital no invtervention had a midwife and left 2 hours after birth I really want a homebirth this time but talk to me about homebirthing and b strep

[jrabbit]

We've been talking about this in December: http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1005141

I plan to take the test but probably won't do antibiotics, if positive ... unless there was a "reason", of course.

[dogmom327]

I chose not to be tested. Unless your baby comes quite early, my general understanding is that the odds of them becoming sick are very very small. Also being positive now doesn't mean you'll be positive at the time your baby is born...same for a negative. A positive test would go in my file and cause all sorts of problems should I have to transfer (lots of pressure to take the antibiotics, possibly unable to leave the hospital with the baby AMA). I decided if I went into labor very early, we would evaluate our risk at that point.

[Natanya]

Ever heard of hibicleans. It is an antimicrobrial that I use as a douche for GBS+ women every 4-6 hours throughout labor or at SROM. If you need more info, email me. Holland midwives use it and have studies. Great alternative to antibiotics.

[pantufla]

I have had two homebirths, and tested positive for GBS both times. I'm positive this time as well, and still planning a homebirth. In this state midwives are able to give IV antibiotics. My labors tend to progress rapidly, so I'm doing the Hibiclens protocol. If my labor goes on for a long time with my waters broken I will request IV antibiotics.

[chic2chic]

i tested positive, for the first time ever, this pregnancy. i tried the vaginal garlic, probiotics, vit. c plus hibiclens, re-tested, and still tested + (oh, and btw i take probiotics throughout pg & have never had a yeast infection -- so i guess this time it's just meant to be)

my HB midwives will administer IV abx during labor, but only if there's time, as i labor super-fast. otherwise, if there's no time, we will have to rely on very close monitoring of baby just after birth.

although it's not my ideal of HB, i've come to terms with "what will be, will be" and i would so much rather that i get the abx rather than my newborn, which would be hospital protocol here if there were any complications or transfer. (at worst, i'll receive a dose that takes 15 minutes to administer)

my MW and ped have been super flexible and open to all of my choices -- but they do all have personal experience of babies who develop GBS disease following a HB, unfortunately, and in their experience hibiclens during labor is not as effective as they would like. so i'm comfortable with this decision -- but of course much is out of my hands and will depend on how labor progresses.

[Lizbiz]

I went into labor a little earlier than anticipated (37 1/2 weeks). I actually called my clinic the day I went into labor (I was receiving dual care - from my midwife and from my OB - who didn't know we were homebirthing) - to ask them for my GBS test results. We found out I was positive and my midwife advised me to use a wash of Goldenseal/Water (I did this several times throughout labor) and also take a tincture Echinacea by mouth every so often during my labor. It worked for us - we didn't have any problems. I was already taking probiotics during my pregnancy and taking vitamins.

I didn't want to have antibiotics, especially because I've found that many antibiotics don't react well with my system. So I was afraid that I'd have an adverse reaction that would either complicate labor or the post-partum time or just make it more difficult than necessary. Obviously I'd have done this if it meant my baby would be safe, but my midwife advised against it and thought that the natural measures would adequately protect my baby from the risk.

So, in my estimation, I think homebirth/GBS positive status aren't a bad combination. Your midwife can help you figure out the best way to handle it.

[treemom2]

I tested positive for my first child, then refused to be tested for any of my other births. In some countries, like Japan, this test is not done. After my research, I am very comfortable with my decisions regarding strep B. There are warning signs that it could possible become a problem: membranes being broken for a long time (over 24 hours) and mother's fever during birth and in these cases I might opt for the antibiotics. Another thing I found in my research is that one day you might test positive and the next day you might test negative which can be a problem if your doc is testing at 36 or 37 weeks since they don't know which you will be on the actual day you give birth. I have heard of people going on special diets, using garlic suppositories vaginally, increasing vitamin C (usually with sodium ascorbate), etc. . . Here's an article with more information on strep B. Also, when I was pg I found a wonderful article by Dr Odent about the likelihood of a baby developing group B. . .see if you can find it, it really opened my eyes and helped me feel very comfortable having homebirths.

[katmann]

This might be particular to my state (VA) or region, but my midwife told me that if I don't have the test done and then for some reason I have to transfer, the hospital will assume I'm positive and treat me on their protocol. So I'm having the test done. But I know if I'm positive I can still have a homebirth.

[mammamo]

For those of you who have done the garlic, does it stink *bad*? I still have to go to work and don't want people to be all like what's that rotten smell. LOL! I have a DEM and can't co-care in my area, so I won't get the test, so I'm planning on doing the garlic starting at 38 weeks until I go into labor. I sounds better than the hibicleans douche to me, just knowing that the hibicleans will likely give me a yeast infection And with the garlic supp and olive oil massage, sounds like an italian meal

[groovynaturemama]

i was gbs + and used dilute hibiclens. i did it right after my water broke, and was holding my baby (4 hrs. later) by the time i needed to do it again.

[rockportmidwife]

Originally Posted by mammamo

For those of you who have done the garlic, does it stink *bad*?

I have used garlic suppositories for something else. The only time I could smell the garlic was when my pants were down to go the bathroom. You do have to wash your hands really well, because the smell stays on them.

[BekahMomToOliver]

We didn't test for GBS. Since status can change at any time, we decided to just see how things went. If I had any of the factors that would make it an issue then we'd treat it as if I was +, and would monitor baby closely anyway in the 48 hours after birth (as if I wouldn't have been obsessing over every little breath he took anyway ) My midwives weren't able to get an RX for antibiotics themselves, and my doc was on holiday the weeks before I delivered so she couldn't give me one, so testing + would have meant no homebirth, and honestly, in all my research on GBS, that seemed a bit excessive.
Good luck!!

[ShwarmaQueen]

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[essnce629]

I was GBS+ during my first pregnancy and had a homebirth. My midwife gave me some natural remedies to treat it if I wanted and then retest, but after doing some more research on my own I wasn't really all that worried about it. I ended up having a really fast and easy homebirth. My water didn't break till I was 10cm and my son was born in the water so I didn't even think about the whole GBS+ stuff at the time. Maybe if I went into preterm labor or if my water had broken at the start of labor I might have been a little more concerned, but in my case it never even entered my mind. I'll most likely test again with this pregnancy for my own curiosity, but who knows if I'd treat it or not. I am taking probiotics, but that's about all.

[acp]

I think I"ll probably test. My mw suggests it, not because she thinks the abx are necessary (she's happy to skip them or try natural alternatives) but because in the case of a hospital transfer, she says a negative test can be worth a lot - one less thing for the hospital to feel they have to worry about, and if the test hasn't been done, the hospital assumes you're positive. I'm not expecting to transfer, but that seems like a decent reason to me, and I"m glad that she doesn't push abx if it's a positive result.

[theretohere]

I was GBS+ with my last homebirth. I had a systematic infection, not just a vaginal positive swab. I was able to get IV abx at home. Other then that, it didn't change anything.