GBS and Hibiclense... cheating the test or solving the problem?

[mamaecho]

Hey ladies

I'm 28/29 weeks, so at some point I'll have to do the GBS swab. I'm currently seeing CNM's. I've heard from many moms that their CPM's suggested hibiclense prior to the test. I want to do whatever I can to have a natural birth in the hospital, so I know being GBS negative is important. BUT my concern is this: if I have vaginal GBS and use hibiclense, am I just cheating the test, or does the hibiclense solve the infection/problem? I'm paranoid that I would cheat the test but cause issues for the baby? I'm wondering if maybe I don't fully grasp the situation? Any suggestions/advice/info would be great! :)

Thanks!

[1love4ever]

IMO, in most situations GBS in no big deal, modern medicine just makes a huge deal out of it to cover their butts, much like the reason they give babies antibiotics in their eyes- nearly pointless.  The only time it makes a difference if you are positive is if your baby is premature or your water has been broken for a long time.  Here is an awesome article on the issue, http://mothering.com/pregnancy-birth/treating-group-b-strep  I think you will find it very informative. 

My MW said she really didnt care if I took the test or not but if my water was broken for more than 18hrs she would transport to hospital, whereas if I was tested and it came back negative she wouldnt transport til 24hrs.

Where do you get hibiclense or how do you go about doing it?

[woodensandals]

I used hibicleanse before my test because I am very against unnecessary antibiotics and the thought of having an IV in my arm during labor is not acceptable to me. The hospital that does water birth near me has very specific rules about who they let in the tub. You don't qualify and you end up in a regular room with all the stuff you didn't want.
So it worked (whether I had strep b or not) and I passed my test. It is only a test cheat. Does not rid your body of the germ.

[kathrineg]

Strep B can be a big deal--or it can not be a big deal. Doctors wouldn't need to "cover their butts" if GBS never led to sepsis, meningitis, and/or death--but sometimes it does and there is no way of knowing ahead of time whether it will be your baby. That is not meant to be scary, and chances are your baby will be fine, but I don't like to pretend like there is no risk at all.

If you trust your CNMs, then you can ask them what they think about hibiclens and whether they think the test will still be accurate.

If you're negative (most women are), then you do not have to worry about it. I tested negative without any special diet or preparation.

If you are positive then you can weigh the risks of GBS against the risks of antibiotics with the help of your CNMs.

I don't see much of a benefit to purposefully not knowing. The test itself is a simple, easy swab that doesn't hurt.

[1love4ever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kathrineg 

Strep B can be a big deal--or it can not be a big deal. Doctors wouldn't need to "cover their butts" if GBS never led to sepsis, meningitis, and/or death--but sometimes it does and there is no way of knowing ahead of time whether it will be your baby. That is not meant to be scary, and chances are your baby will be fine, but I don't like to pretend like there is no risk at all.
 

Doctors "cover their butts" because YES it CAN lead to complications, but it is extremely rare, almost unheard of, for a healthy full term baby to have any problems because the mom had GBS, unless her water was broke for an extended amount of time.  It is MUCH more common for a mom and/or baby to have complications related to the routine use of antibiotics during labor to "treat" GBS, and considering that it is not always effective anyway(and can lead to complications months later as well!), well, I would decline them.  I strongly recommend reading the article that I posted, it is so informative.

When I was a nursing student and working as a UAP, I saw extreme overuse of antibiotics(although I never saw them used in labor), and I saw so many patients with MRSA who had been on antibiotics so many times in their lives.  The problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria is HUGE, but the medical field continues to dish them out without a second thought, and yes usually it is just to cover their butts, such as when a Dr prescribes antibiotics to a patient he knows just has a cold.

[onetwoten]

Originally Posted by kathrineg 

Strep B can be a big deal--or it can not be a big deal. Doctors wouldn't need to "cover their butts" if GBS never led to sepsis, meningitis, and/or death--but sometimes it does and there is no way of knowing ahead of time whether it will be your baby. That is not meant to be scary, and chances are your baby will be fine, but I don't like to pretend like there is no risk at all.

If you trust your CNMs, then you can ask them what they think about hibiclens and whether they think the test will still be accurate.

If you're negative (most women are), then you do not have to worry about it. I tested negative without any special diet or preparation.

If you are positive then you can weigh the risks of GBS against the risks of antibiotics with the help of your CNMs.

I don't see much of a benefit to purposefully not knowing. The test itself is a simple, easy swab that doesn't hurt.

This is pretty much my thoughts. I will take the swab, without any preparation. DH and I have talked about it, and for us, a positive result does NOT necessarily mean we will get the antibiotics-- but it means we will know to be more cautious about symptoms if they arise, and if we start showing any/enough risk factors, then I would probably consent to the antiobiotics at that point. 

However-- if I knew that my testing positive would definitively ruin something about my birth (ie force me to hospital birth when otherwise I would be homebirthing) then I might be more tempted not to test, or to trick the test. 

[Hmmmwhy]

I think you are both wrong, do you know anybody that had the condition but did not know it, testing for it was not always thought of as necessary, so I can not believe that you would think that you really know what could happen. Strep b is a killer, and should not be taken lightly. Please remove or amend your post, to identify the seriousness of it. If you test positive take it seriously and consider how lucky you are to have the test available to you.  Twenty hours after the birth of my daughter,(who I felt hicup between the last pushes of her birth took enough of the fluid into her mouth to infect her) was being rushed to a hospital, and spent 3 full weeks, 21 days in the intensive care unit of a major hospital in Madison. Don't go through watching two spinal taps on a baby less then a month old be your decision by choice. If they most hospitals and Birthing centers say it is a worthwhile test, take it , don't do a clense or what ever you think will work unless you are ready to deal with the consequences. I am lucky, so lucky because without the test I didn't know I had it, and the test was added in our town and many other families have been spared the fear, and pain of signing a dual Birth Certificate, the kind that they give to the parents of children that are so sick before they are discharged, that will work if you baby doesn't make it. She did and is not the profoundly deaf, and retarded child that they were sure we would have, even after the best medicine and Doctor's around she would not be if I had followed either one of your choices. 

[Plummeting]

NM. Misread it. It isn't your town that implemented that policy. It was a joint CDC and ACOG recommendation.

I did give birth without the recommended antibiotics for GBS positive women, despite the fact that I was GBS positive. My daughter was completely fine, as are MOST babies born to GBS positive women. Does that negate your story? No, it doesn't, because both of them are completely anecdotal. You have no business telling other people to change their posts to reflect your opinion. We're all adults here, and your experience is not the norm. I'm terribly sorry that it happened to you and your daughter, and I can only imagine the heartache it must have caused you, but no one should make decisions based on anecdotal stories from strangers on the internet (or friends in real life, or anywhere else).

GBS is a much more complicated issue than just "Do whatever they tell you or your baby will get really sick." I can understand why your experience would leave you unable to contemplate alternatives to just following protocol. If you were interested in the other side of hte coin, you'd know that early onset GBS disease is rare in healthy, term babies, and that it can generally be predicted based on several factors, such as prolonged rupture of membranes or GBS urinary tract infection in the mother during pregnancy. You would also know that antibiotic use carries its own risks, and that the risk/benefit analysis isn't completely straightforward. You don't know that because your personal experience makes it seem irrelevant to you. That's fine, but we are not all obligated to make our decisions based on your personal experience and limited knowledge, just as you aren't obligated to make your decisions based on ours.

To the OP, I don't think it does either. Many women who do hibiclens fail anyway. I think women who pass after hibiclens wash already weren't carrying it at the time of the test. Personally, I do the test and don't try to "cheat". I didn't choose abx last time (and wasn't positive the first time) but it's good information to have. I guess I might view it differently if a positive status would force a change in my birth plans.
Edited by Plummeting - 2/13/12 at 4:24pm

[cat13]

Yes, it is sort of like "cheating" the test to do hibiclense before the test. You'll need to ask a few questions before you take it: What would YOU like to differently if you are GBS+? What would your care providers/hospital MAKE you do if you are GBS+? If the answer is the same to both questions, then I can't see why you would want to do the Hibiclense. Either test or not.

But, you may find that your care provider/hospital has rules about what you have to do if you are GBS+ or if you refuse the test (or if not rules about you, they might have rules about how they treat the baby after he/she is born). In this case, you might want to "cheat" the test to get a negative test so that you aren't forced to do these things.

[1love4ever]

Just wanted to let everyone know of my healthy baby born at home with no complications even though I was GBS+.  I didnt do any kinds of cleanses in labor or anything, just let things happen naturally.  My water was broke for a whole 20 minutes before the baby was born lol, so i didnt have any risk factors.

[cat13]

Congratulations!