At hospital - Need advice re antibiotics Asap

[Cassaba]

Hi Mamas,

I just had a baby girl. Apparently my bag of waters had broken at some point prior to the onset of labor and I didn't know. The hospital ped wants to run a blood test for infection and also start her on antibiotics ASAP as a precautionary measure. To me, I think we should wait on antibiotics until we find out if she has an infection. What would you do? By the way, there was meconium when she was born.

Thanks so much.

[lynsage]

I wouldn't consent to ABX for myself or a newborn unless/until an infection was found.

[pregnant@40]

I wouldn't want to wait for signs of infection in my newborn & put her at risk for complications, and would follow the physician's advice. Maybe you could ask more questions in order to understand the rationale for preventive treatment?

[Sfcmama]

Wait for signs or positive test. Antibiotics "just to be safe" puts you at risk for developing thrush and getting breastfeeding off to a tough start!
Congrats!

[stik]

Declining antibiotics puts your dd at risk for an infection that could also complicate breastfeeding.  Thrush is a lot easier to overcome than time in the NICU on a vent.  If you're uncertain about why the abx are being offered, you should demand that the doctor (or the nurses - they usually know) explain it to you.  But personally, I would be inclined to consent because of the prolonged ROM and the meconium.  If the babe had just one risk factor, I might decline, but not with two. 

[nia82]

Just because your water broke? My water had been broken for 24 hours when DS was born and not a single ped even mentioned antibiotics. That is ridic, so every mom whose water was broken needs to have a kid on abx now??? This does not sound right at all and is not standard protocol by any means. Ask more questions, I would not allow it.

[pregnant@40]

 But we don't know when the OP's amniotic sac ruptured, and it could have been well beyond the 24-hr window.

[womenswisdom]

24 hours is not a magic number for infection risk.  In fact, in studies that compared infection risk after 24 hours with risk after as much as 4 days, there was no significant difference.  The infection risk did increase 24 hours after the first vaginal exam, though.  I would not consent to antibiotics in the absence of a known need for them.  Meconium is not an indication for antibiotic treatment, by the way, in any case.

[OkiMom]

I wouldn't consent to antibiotics without a present infection either. To me antibiotics are overused and should be used for a last resort measure, not as the first thing you go to. How long will it take before the blood work is back?

[nia82]

The bloodwork should be back quickly, at least the white cell count comes back within an hour. Certain white cells are elevated in case of viral and other ones in case of bacterial infections. I happen to know this cause we went through this twice with DS (both time viral infections). A specific bacteria culture takes abour 48 hours but usually comes back within a day (my kidney infection came back within 20 hours with the specific type of bacteria).

[Cassaba]

We decided to wait to see if she had an infection. Everything else they were monitoring was improving, so we thought that was a good sign. Turns out that she did not have an infection, so we were able to avoid the abx. Our first tough decision as parents. Thankfully, it came out okay.

[Sfcmama]

glad to hear the good news, op. Yes, one of many difficult decisions to come. Cngrats for thinking it through and not just impulsively reacting to the fear. Enjo your new babe!!