Talk to me about Group B Strep

[Adaline'sMama]

I've had tested positive for GBS with my other two children, and I'd like to do everything I can to not have it this time. Not to just not test positive and not have to get antibiotics, but I'd like to not have it at all. Does anyone know what may prevent me from having the infection or any good information about getting rid of it if you do have it? I take a daily probiotic and eat tons of probiotics, but that hasnt kept me from having it the past two times. Any ideas? TIA!

[Carlin]

This thread from 2003 is old, but might be a good starting point. The 3rd post down has a ton of information in it. http://www.mothering.com/community/t/102051/info-on-alternative-treatment-for-gbs

I'm in the same boat as you. I was GBS+ last time, and would really like to do what I can to prevent it this time, but I have no interest in just 'beating the test.'

I'd love to hear anyone else's input too!

[scowgirl]

While we're on the subject... I have already tested positive and will be getting the IV antibiotics. Anything else I need to know about this? The main things I am concerned about are a) Will my breast milk be bad for the baby now that I am knocking out all my beneficial bacteria, and b) Are they going to try to use this as an excuse to put me on continuous monitoring or anything like that? Should I decline internal exams? Etc. I did some online research and the information seems to mostly indicate that the antibiotics are not a big problem or hindrance to labor, but it's hard to tell what perspective people are coming from with this info. My midwife did say that they could use a hep lock so I won't have to be tied to the IV all the time. I am guessing I will need to go to the hospital as soon as water breaks, even if my contractions aren't as close together as I would like at that time?

In general, my midwife made this sound like no big deal as long as I get one course of AB's in 4 hours prior to the birth, and I trust her, but it will likely be a different midwife attending so I want to make sure I understand what might happen.

Sorry if I am hijacking the thread--feel free to just disregard, but I thought I would ask since you guys have some experience with this. Thanks!

[Adaline'sMama]

As far as getting antibiotics during labors goes, I have had them twice and I made sure to request them as soon as I walked in the door of the hospital. When you arrive at the hospital in labor, they typically have to get a strip on you and baby (20-ish minutes of monitoring your contractions and the baby's heartbeat) even if your OB has agreed to intermittent monitoring or portable monitoring. You typically have to get a hep lock and they do a vaginal exam when you arrive (which you can decline, but I always wanted to know when I arrived even though I declined later exams). So, when you go in for a hospital birth, you can typically be prepared to be bombarded with questions, get strapped down to the bed for monitoring, have your help lock put in when you first arrive even though 30 minutes later you may be up moving around, in the shower, on your birth ball, ect. There are going to be some initial things they are going to want to do: make sure they are doing your antibiotics during that time, so that when they are done with all that mess, they are done with your antibiotics too and you are free to move around without being strapped to a machine. The antibiotics usually only take about 20 minutes.

With my first, my water broke and I had no contractions until 6 hours later. We got two full doses of antibiotics in. I didnt go to the hospital until about 8 hours after my water broke. With my second, I went to the hospital as soon as I started having "real" contractions. We got one does of antibiotics in and my son was born a little over 2 minutes later.


Your breastmilk isnt going to be bad just because you took antibiotics Make sure you take plenty of probiotcs before and afterwards to prevent yeast infections and thrush.

[scowgirl]

That is great--exactly the type of information I was looking for! Thanks so much! I especially appreciate the tip about getting the antibiotics right away while they are doing the other check-in steps.

[Carlin]

My water broke over 2 days before DD was born, so I was on pretty massive IV antibiotics for about 24 hours.

The hospital did not require any additional monitoring or anything so that was not an issue.

As far as internal exams go, I think it's best to limit them as much as possible, anyways, but I'd certainly decline as many of them as you can. I did however allow a few when there were some questions about how DD was handling pit induced contractions. I was reasonably comfortable with them at that point as I knew we were getting towards the end, and I figured there wasn't much that was likely to have survived the amount of antibiotics I was on anyways.

Your breastmilk is still absolutely the best thing for your baby, antibiotics or not. The biggest concern regarding antibiotics and breastfeeding is that the lack of good bacteria can leave you more vulnerable to thrush. I made sure I was taking a good probiotic, and gave my DD a couple doses of a good, newborn safe infant probiotic as well to help re-establish a heathy bacterial environment.

My only other advice is to read up on the risk factors that increase the chances of GBS infection in infants (mostly PROM, premature birth and signs of infection like increasing temperature in the mother before birth) and make sure you know the symptoms too. From the research I've done, antibiotics in labour are very effective, but they are not 100% guaranteed to work. It's possible I'm just paranoid, but I sort of figure that if you've been treated, sometimes doctors will overlook the possibility that a baby may still end up with GBS, so I wanted to make sure that I knew what I was looking for too.

[letileon]

My main issue with the antibiotics during labor, which I had with DS, was that we got a wicked case of thrush because of them. Of course, it's also not the greatest to bring a baby into the world in a cocktail of antibiotics but I was undereducated and just followed my OBGYN's request. Does anyone know if you can NOT get them even if you test positive?

[lovebeingamomma]

yes you can always decline them.  It's YOUR body, they cannot force any drug on you.  

[Carlin]

Yes, you can choose not to take them. Of course, depending on your care provider, you may or may not have a fight on your hands.

My decision had been to skip antibiotics, do a hibiclens rinse and watch baby carefully, but I also decided that if any of the factors that increase the risk of transmission were present (premature baby, signs of infection in Mom and Baby prior to delivery, rupture of membranes significantly before the start of labour) I'd be willing to go along with IV antibiotics. As it turned out, my water broke over 48 hours before baby was born, and my temperature was starting to rise so we decided to go ahead with the antibiotics. In order to try to prevent thrush and some of the other issues that can come about from lacking good bacteria, I started both DD and I on probiotics as soon as I could. It worked for us, and we had no problems with thrush or digestive issues.

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by Carlin 

Yes, you can choose not to take them. Of course, depending on your care provider, you may or may not have a fight on your hands.

My decision had been to skip antibiotics, do a hibiclens rinse and watch baby carefully, but I also decided that if any of the factors that increase the risk of transmission were present (premature baby, signs of infection in Mom and Baby prior to delivery, rupture of membranes significantly before the start of labour) I'd be willing to go along with IV antibiotics. As it turned out, my water broke over 48 hours before baby was born, and my temperature was starting to rise so we decided to go ahead with the antibiotics. In order to try to prevent thrush and some of the other issues that can come about from lacking good bacteria, I started both DD and I on probiotics as soon as I could. It worked for us, and we had no problems with thrush or digestive issues.

This is exactly where I am. I'm carrying twins, so the likelyhood of premature babies is pretty high, especially since DD was born at 37 weeks and DS at 38. I've never made it to 40 weeks. With DS I wasn't able to get two doses of antibiotics in because I delivered so fast (and I went to the hospital as soon as contractions started.) In his autopsy report, it showed cultures of GBS. While I know that it was not his COD, I am aware that I passed it to him. This is the main reason that I really want to make sure that I don't have it this time, not just that I test negative.