Water breaking and GBS status

[Ambivalent Dreams]

If your labor starts with your water breaking, how long do you have to deliver the baby before your MW or OB starts worrying? What if you are GBS+? What if you are GBS-?

[hildare]

It depends on the practitioner. My OB was fine with it until we approached the over 24 hour point; I had elected to not be tested. Having water break that far ahead of labor used to be one of the 'risk' factors to watch when women weren't routinely tested during pregnancy.
I think that if you are positive, and your water breaks, if you have an OB, she/he will recommend that you get the antibiotics immediately.
I'm sure midwives have a different outlook & I know some don't press for women to get the test, and rely upon the "watch" factors.
I think that 12 hours is what some midwives wait for past water breaking..

[Wittyone]

Hospital-based CNM practice here -

For women in our practice who are GBS+ we recommend starting antibiotics as soon as the water breaks (if it breaks prior to labor starting). We recommend augmentation or moving things along by 18 hours post-rupture if labor hasn't started on its own (often it has).

For women who are GBS- we have 3 days for labor to get going post-rupture, as long as everything else remains reassuring (baby sounds good, no fever in mom, NOTHING in the vagina including NO vaginal exams). Most women's labor starts well before the 72 hours are up, usually within 1-2 days. Women have the option of being induced or augmented prior to the 3rd day if they wish, but most choose to wait.