Anyone else not doing a strep b swab?

[paula444four]

HI
I was postive for strep B with my first born and went ahead and had the antibiotics. Although my son was born only 2 hours after the drip started so I doubt it helped at all.

This time around my MW (different than with the first) doestn think much of the antibiotics or strep b so we have decided to skip the test altogether. Anyone else going this route?

Thanks.

[opera mom]

I am not doing it as well. I was Neg. with my daughter and my midwife feels the same way as yours does so I feel okay skipping it. I am almost 38 weeks.

[Sadystar]

I'm kind of "whatever" about most testing however a local crunchy couple lost a baby to it, and it happened very quickly like 40 minutes between onset of symptoms and death, and not only did they lose their child but they were hounded by social services and the media and made out to be bad parents, totally wrung through the mill.

Not what you need when you're baby just died.

My take on it: it's just a q-tip up your fanny for a second or two, no biggy it's not going to traumatise me or my baby or ruin the sacred nature of her birth.

If I'd tested positive before, I'd definitely be doing the test this time. I'm sure lots of people don't do the test and the vast majority are fine, though i don't see the reason not to.

I've actually been given the swab to do it myself, though the local nurse has said that she would do it for me if I don't feel capable. If it's a question of privacy, would you be able to do it yourself?

It's just my 2 cents, but there is a crunchy culture of avoiding things which really don't matter all in the name of being "natural". Though if anyone wants to tell me that IS a reason to not do the test then I'm all ears, though quickly.....I have to do it tomorrow morning!

[hunterofkyle]

My doc doesn't even offer it, so it wasn't exactly a matter of choice. I've been tested in my previous pregnancies and never come up positive. I haven't even really thought about it this time, to be honest.

[opera mom]

For most of us, it comes and goes...so you could be tested one week and have one result and the next week have the opposite. If you test and it is poistive, you have to either do antibiotics..which can affect breastfeeding or do a hibacleanse during your labor. But you could be positive and not even know it as the bacteria does change from day to day. This is my understanding. I was feeling confident about my decision but anytime someone talks about dying babies, it can affect a pregnant woman. Anymore advice?

[*~Danielle~*]

I wasn't going to have it done because I'm scheduled for a cesarean this time and my doc doesn't see a reason for it. But, if I go into labor early, then I will try for a vba2c and would feel more at ease if I knew either way.

I also know a woman who was pos. for strep B and she had a homebirth and she did not recieve antibiotics and her baby died the next day. Very horrible, I don't know if her body was riddled with it or what, but she was not given the compassion that a mother who has just lost her child should be given. She was looked at as irresponsible and she too, has 3 other children.

All that to say. It is a very personal decision and odds are in your favor that nothing will ever come of it...but there is that slim chance that it could affect your baby. For me, any chance is too great and so I think I will just go ahead and get tested.

[Sadystar]

Originally Posted by opera mom

I was feeling confident about my decision but anytime someone talks about dying babies, it can affect a pregnant woman. Anymore advice?

I'm sorry I wasn't trying to scare anyone, just giving my experience and take on it. I guess whether you are prepared to take the treatment is another thing to take into consideration. I don't like abx but if I tested positive then I would feel compelled to treat it, given what happened to that baby nearby, and just trust that I BFing would come good.

Truth is, there is a good chance that both of those babes might still be here today had their mama had the test, now of course no one can guarantee any outcome and we are all here because we have an alternative to mainstream view on birth and parenting and are probably doing something that someone somewhere would consider "risky". However most of things that people on MDC either consciously do or consciously avoid they do so because they believe that there is some harm to be avoided. I don't see in the case of strep B testing what harm could be caused by doing the test.

[lanielayne]

Nope. We aren't doing it here.

[paula444four]

OP here

Its not that I am avoiding the test...I mean that in itself is nothing. I actually ran the swab over my taint myself last pregnancy...so no privacy issues. My concern...is whether the treatment (abx) is effective and or neccessary. Plus...with the strain coming and going...is it even a test that is significant or relevant? I read an article in mothering that said that the antibiotics themselves do not guarantee protection from the strep b...bc it like so many other strains these days are becoming more and more resistant. Its hard to imagine loosing a child to anything...but I would not say that just bc you get IV abx 3 hours prior to birth would guarantee that a child would not die from a serious infection.

I am interested to hear more from those not doing the test or treatment.

[Super Glue Mommy]

we skipped.

the problem with the test is that it is given in advance, and so the results are not indicative of your status on the day you give birth. So, you can get a negative results - but be positive on the day of birth. Or, you can get a positive result, and be negative on the day of birth.

If they had a way to test when labor began (so that the result would be accurate to your status during labor) then I would be interested. There are natural things you can do as well.

"GBS is a problem only when it is present in the genital area of a pregnant woman during labor and delivery." (the test isnt given at this time!)

"One dilemma is that colonization of the vaginal area by GBS is, at best, a poor method of predicting whether a newborn will develop a GBS infection. As mentioned, even without any intervention during labor, fewer than 1 percent of infants born to carriers of GBS develop infections."

http://www.mothering.com/articles/pr...n/group-b.html

And alternative treatment: hibiclens
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/gbsAlt.html

Things to consider:
* Being positive for GBS at 36-37 weeks does not mean you will have GBS when you give birth.
* Being negative for GBS at 36-37 weeks does not mean you will not have GBS when you give birth.
* What risks are associated with having GBS when you give birth?
* What risks are associated with the antibiotic?
* Is there something else I can do to prevent having GBS at birth that would be a safer alternative?

ETA: I am not part of your DDC, sorry for posting, i just saw the link as the most recently posted to in this forum and thought I would share insight that might be helpful to the OP... I originally thought it was just posted in a general forum for pregnancy and birth... didn't realize it was a specific due date club until after I posted.

[lanielayne]

Did you read the other thread in this forum concerning Group B strep?

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1043519

[K&JsMaMa]

Originally Posted by *~Danielle~*

All that to say. It is a very personal decision and odds are in your favor that nothing will ever come of it...but there is that slim chance that it could affect your baby. For me, any chance is too great and so I think I will just go ahead and get tested.

This is how I feel.

When babies get sick, they get sick fast! Losing a baby over something that could be EASILY prevented is just not worth the risk to me.

[Sadystar]

From what I've read here about it coming and going, is that to say that if you were giving birth in hospital then they would swab you in labour? otherwise it doesn't make sense.

[mom2tatum]

I don't believe the TEST is harmful at all. I just always ask myself, these questions in regards to testing,
"What are the results going to tell me?"
"Will it effect any decision I may make?"

And the answer to #2 for me is definitely a "no". And honestly, I'm sorry, but these stories of these babies dying from GBS infection is just not real good clear info since we don't know the whole story prior to birth, during labor, or after. And that is not really fair - it sounds like something a ped tells a mother who is unsure about whether or not to give 7 shots at a 2 month well baby visit. "Well, babies die from XYZ." Its total fear based and not good info, without facts and stats and balance. It is EXTREMELY unlikely that these were situations of normal labors where other major risk factors were not involved such as the ones I listed in the other thread. I agree that some people do things in the name of being "natural" and sometimes don't know why they are even choosing them and make decisions without totally thinking them through and taking other precautions. I see that, too. But full term babies whose water stayed intact at least 12 hours prior to birth and born to a not feverish mother not only shouldn't become infected, but definitely shouldn't be dying.

I am sorry, but knowing an OB who has delivered babies for over thirty years and having a best friend who works in L & D/nursery tells me the truth lies in the stats. This OB hasn't seen a normal full term baby die from GBS ever - and sort of rolls his eyes at the fact that people think those babies even get very sick. And he is a pretty medicalized thinker IMO. When there are other risk factors, its a different story, but its just not fair to say "this baby died from it. period." Its just not.

[mom2tatum]

Originally Posted by Super Glue Mommy

we skipped.

the problem with the test is that it is given in advance, and so the results are not indicative of your status on the day you give birth. So, you can get a negative results - but be positive on the day of birth. Or, you can get a positive result, and be negative on the day of birth.

If they had a way to test when labor began (so that the result would be accurate to your status during labor) then I would be interested. There are natural things you can do as well.

"GBS is a problem only when it is present in the genital area of a pregnant woman during labor and delivery." (the test isnt given at this time!)

"One dilemma is that colonization of the vaginal area by GBS is, at best, a poor method of predicting whether a newborn will develop a GBS infection. As mentioned, even without any intervention during labor, fewer than 1 percent of infants born to carriers of GBS develop infections."

http://www.mothering.com/articles/pr...n/group-b.html

And alternative treatment: hibiclens
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/gbsAlt.html

Things to consider:
* Being positive for GBS at 36-37 weeks does not mean you will have GBS when you give birth.
* Being negative for GBS at 36-37 weeks does not mean you will not have GBS when you give birth.
* What risks are associated with having GBS when you give birth?
* What risks are associated with the antibiotic?
* Is there something else I can do to prevent having GBS at birth that would be a safer alternative?

ETA: I am not part of your DDC, sorry for posting, i just saw the link as the most recently posted to in this forum and thought I would share insight that might be helpful to the OP... I originally thought it was just posted in a general forum for pregnancy and birth... didn't realize it was a specific due date club until after I posted.

Oh and yeah to all that. Thanks mama. I don't mean to sound so defensive, I hope I don't, but I just hate to think that so many women are convinced that testing is the right answer here and that if you don't test, your baby is at risk for dying. That just is not a healthy and safe way to think IMO...and testing sometimes gives people that impression, like all is good now.

Thanks for posting! (I am a DDC crasher too )

[RGsMom]

For another article: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/garlic.asp is what my Doula gave me. Unfortunately I didn't do the garlic thing right (I know sounds weird, but I really didn't and I was too sleepy to fix it, hehe), so I did test positive (again). Unfortunately the dr. won't retest me, but she said I can opt out of the antibiotics, though she would not medically advise it. I do plan on doing this with my husbands consent though and do the garlic thing because I would much rather do it that way than to have antibiotics pumped into me again and going to my little baby.