My GBS regimen.. tested negative at 36 weeks, 6 days. And a question about peroxide washes and...

[nicholeraine]

I was positive for GBS in my first pregnancy which led to being induced when my water broke before contractions started. This time I'm having a home birth and one of my biggest worries was a repeat of that situation(my midwife has a policy to induce after 4 hours of water breaking if there are no contractions and you are GBS+), so I did a pretty intense regimen to prevent GBS. I thought I'd share in case anyone is in a similar situation!

I started probiotics in the second trimester, 10 billion CFU twice a day. I also began eating 2 cloves of raw garlic a day at the same time.

At 30 weeks I started taking 1000 mg of vitamin c once a day.

At 31 weeks I did a 5 day, twice a day hydrogen peroxide wash. I used an oral syringe from the drug store, 10 mL and gently dripped it inside 3 times followed by rinsing the outside with another 10 mL. I did this morning and night for 5 days. At night I inserted a probiotic capsule.

After this I continued doing twice weekly peroxide rinses(once on Sunday night and once on Wed night), and I inserted a probiotic capsule every night before I went to sleep.

Starting at 32 weeks I went up to 3 cloves of raw garlic a day. It was easier to crush them and swallow them like pills than chew them. Around this time I increased to taking probiotics with 25 billion CFU twice a day instead of 10 billion, and started drinking a Dan Active drink each morning.

In the week before the GBS swab, I slightly crushed and inserted one clove of garlic each night before bed. I STOPPED inserting the probiotics in the week before the test as I read it can cause a false positive result. I also doubled up on the Dan Active drinks in the week leading to the test.

I did 5 days of twice daily peroxide washes again in the 5 days before the test. On the day of, I did a rinse first thing in the morning and then an hour or two before the test, and I took the syringe with me and after I peed in the midwife's bathroom I rinsed ONLY outside with more peroxide. This was maybe 45 mins before the test.

I swabbed both vaginally and rectally and got a negative result. So now I am just continuing the twice weekly peroxide washes, probiotics, and garlic although I've reduced that to one clove a day as garlic thins the blood. I'm 38 weeks 2 days now and I'm going to do another 5 days of peroxide washes just to be on the safe side. I'm going to insert garlic daily again during this point as well. 

Just a question I had though, I was 3 cm dilated on Friday and had a sweep, had some bloody show and lost my plug. I did a peroxide rinse this morning, I assume there's no problem with that until my water breaks?

[erigeron]

Where are you seeing that she did bleach? Peroxide isn't the same as bleach. Did I miss it? 

Any studies on the safety of peroxide washes? 

[Attila the Honey]

I would NOT do the peroxide.  When my dd got her ears pierced the piercer said not to use peroxide on them because peroxide breaks down healthy tissue.  I have no idea about the garlic, I am sure someone else will know more about this than I do.

[lilabet]

I think I am conflating bleach with peroxide because of peroxide being what you "bleach" your hair with. I would not be squirting it up my hooha anyway!

I am actually most grossed out by the garlic.

The SMELL. Down there!

Oh noes!!!

[nicholeraine]

Peroxide is naturally produced by the healthy bacteria in the vaginal, and actually really commonly used for BV and yeast infections. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14676737

I did read an abstract on it killing gbs bacteria although I did so much research it would take a while to find it. It is very commonly recommended by midwives and even here on mothering.com for gbs prevention though.

The allicin in the garlic works as a natural antibiotic. I eat it to help treat the digestive tract but inserting is really common for vaginal issues too. I didn't find it burnt or smelled, it's only 8 days or so anyway, I'd take that over IV antibiotics or induction any day.

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/gbsCohain.html.

[nicholeraine]

There's more info here about using peroxide for vaginal infections.. I did have bv as well and am completely symptom free http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/vagInfections.html.

[lilabet]

Good lord. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this.

I tell you what, this place never fails to amaze me.

I'd go the IV/anti-b route myself.

What did your partner think?

[mamandedeux]

Ok, Lilabet, I think you've made it clear that you disagree with the Op's method. Good for you, now go clutch your pearls somewhere else...

[veganone]

I would be worried about the peroxide causing PPROM if you are already dilated.

[nicholeraine]

I'm 38 weeks 2 days now but PROM is a concern, I didn't think of that. I wonder if switching to applying the peroxide with fingers or just putting it in the opening would work as well. I had considered switching to just a peri bottle to spray it with. Hmmm.

[veganone]

Why are you still worried?  They won't repeat the test.  If you are really worried about antibiotics, I would be more worried about PROM than possibly developing GBS at this point.  

[~Shanna~]

I might recommend a Hibicleanse instead of peroxide, but it's pretty common (and effective) for women to deal with Step B topically instead of with antibiotics. Studies show that it's just as effective as IV antibiotics for Strep, and actually more effective on E.coli (if you are concerned about it).
 

[allisonrose]

I also used garlic internally in an effort to test GBS- the second time around. Like nicholeraine, my water broke before labor began with my first and I was forced into augmentation/induction. I fully plan to take the same precautions with this pregnancy, my third.

Although I didn't use peroxide at all. I did use diluted vinegar in a peri bottle after bowel movements.

Interestingly, my water did not spontaneously rupture during my second labor. I labored for a long time before my (homebirth) midwife recommended rupturing my water as an attempt to avoid transferring to the hospital. Unfortunately I did ultimately transfer.

[erigeron]

Originally Posted by veganone 

Why are you still worried?  They won't repeat the test.  

Well, GBS isn't ultimately about passing or not passing a test. It's about infecting or not infecting the newborn. So presumably she thinks she's at risk for GBS and wants to continue to keep it at bay. 

[nicholeraine]

Yes, I want to keep doing everything I was doing to prevent GBS colonization when labor happens. The test was a big deal but I also do not want to have GBS at the birth and risk the baby getting infected. I just don't know that twice weekly peroxide treatments is enough now, since I had done 6 days before the test.
 

I had planned on using hibiclens but it's only available by prescription where I am in Canada.

[Adaline'sMama]

Not everyone has time to go the IV/antibiotic route. My last child was born in under 3 hours, and by the time I realized I was in real labor and got to the hospital, he was born just about 20minutes later. No time for antibiotics. But, there is a better GBS regimen on here than peroxide. 

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1364899/if-you-are-gbs-consider-this-protocol/0_50

BTW, raw garlic is fairly common for people to use to fight an infection. I used that method for yeast years and years before I found this website. 

[phathui5]

One thing to consider is using a pH testing strip to test your vaginal pH. If your balance is off, you are at a higher risk for PROM. If your pH is what it should be, I would stop doing the rinses.

Here is an article about vaginal pH:

http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/lauren-streicher-md/when-your-vagina-phunk

[nicholeraine]

Thanks for the link. That's a good idea.

[JudiAU]

Wanted to update that a hibicleanse/ probiotic regime knocked out my gbs after a week. I continued the regime until delivery. But because i had tested positive once we acted like i was still positive even though the risk was miniscule I started oral antibiotics once my water broke and didn't go into labor until 26h later. Had to use a breastpump twice because nothing was happening. Within ten minutes I had my first contractions and within 30 minutes I had regular contractions. Baby was born less than 2 hours later, peacefully at home.

I appreciated that my midwife had long discussions about the science behind each approach but didn't force me into a particular course of action.

[bubbagirl]

I often pour hydrogen peroxide in my bath water and did this before my first gbs test. I didn't have a regimen as you did, but was never + gbs either. I think if you continue with it externally that should be enough coupled with taking probiotics and garlic oraly.