GBS + *sigh*

[peaceful_mama]

found that out at last appt. means I get antibiotics in labor. Does it mean she needs the stupid eyedrops I said she wasn't having too?

[katie9143]

Sorry to hear that - im waiting on my test results too. my understanding was that the eye stuff protected against std's not the gbs, but there are other ladies on here that know a ton about this that will tell you for sure once they read your post!

[meggles]

No, she won't need the eyedrops. Those are just for stds, not gbs.

[skueppers]

Sorry to hear that you're GBS+ -- hopefully, your labor will go quickly enough that you won't need more than one dose!

[MacKinnon]

That's too bad! I was GBS+ with my DD (negative this time). I had one round of antibiodics, no time for two, and was held for 48 hours for observation of DD. It shouldn't mean anything else though, and not all hospitals are firm on the 48 hour rule. Good luck!

[BeagleMommy]

My midwife said there are other ways to treat a GBS+ besides antibiotics.
I'm not testing so I don't know my status, but she said Hibclens had worked well for + clients in the past.

[bleumoose]

Sorry about the results of the test

Can you ask your care provider what happens if you refuse the antibiotics? I figure it's your body and your right to choose what goes into it. There are ways to self-treat, as PPs have mentioned.

If you do opt for antibiotics, it's only one dose every four hours, and can be administered through a hepwell, so you can maintain mobility apart from the 20min or so it takes to receive the drip. Oh and get some probiotics to start taking right after birth to help minimize the affects of the abx on your system -- it'll help you avoid thrush, among other things.

[mama to 2 girls]

I'm sorry to hear that...I tested negative with DD1 but I tested positive with DD2....I remember the feeling. My m/w gave me the choice of refusing anti-biotics and I DID because I am not only allergic to almost every anti-biotic under the sun but I didn't want to have to tied down to an I.V.(or even a HEP-lock) during labor I wanted it to be a truley drug free labor and birth.

Plus, testing positive one time doesn't mean you will test positive again, because it all depends on when you test, because you only get a positive when the GBS is colonized. Another option (if you are birthing in the hospital) is to ask your care provider to test you closer to your due date or while you are in the hospital, because like I said before you can test positive one day and not the next, that's why some women chose not to even test, I don't think I will next time.

Anyways, back to what I was saying, my m/w put me on a concoction to help reduce the risks of passing it to the baby. From early on she already had me on extra Vit. C because she said it makes your bag of waters stronger(my water broke while I was pushing, 5 mins. before she came out!) which is a major factor in protecting the baby. She also had me take garlic(in pill form but raw would work too), echinecea(you aren't supposed to take it more than a week or 2), pro-biotics and we talked about me taking Coloidal Silver, but I was a little nervous about that one, but if you look at gentlebirth.org you will see that some m/w used it.

I also opted out for the eye drops, if you notice the babies eyes looking weird you can put drops of colustrum/breastmilk into the eyes to help.

I hoped this has helped some!

[JJ'sMom]

I'm GBS+ too this time. I am planning a homebirth so I'll talk to my MW tomorrow about all this. They recommend that you get the antibiotics and here we have to go to the hospital for the first dose andbe monitored in case of adverse rx. BLAH!!

[peaceful_mama]

I hadn't even thought of probiotics! doh! I know better.

I'm going in today, maybe I'll ask her to test again, the last one was almost 2 weeks ago.

[tooticky]

If you test positive but don't have any of the risk factors for passing GBS to baby (waters breaking long before labour, fever, etc.) and your labour is progressing quickly, I don't think it's unreasonable to refuse antibiotics.

Also, as a pp has said, the eye goop is for STD's, not GBS. If you tested negative, you can always refuse them and if baby is showing signs of infection opt for the goop later.