Group B Strep

[nanikaiwahine]

I tested positive for GBS and my midwife said that I will have to come in (I have a midwife, but am birthing at a hospital.....military insurance, looooong story) as soon as my water breaks. She also said that I will not have to have an IV, but a hep lock and receive anitbiotics every 4 hours during labor. I'm wondering what GBS actually is, any help?? Also, I am planning on refusing the eye drops, Vit K, and Hep B, but am wondering if the GBS can give the baby an eye infection??

[the_lissa]

NAK, I would try natural remedies if I were GBS +, and only use antibiotics if I had any risk factors, such as prolonged rupture of membranes or a fever.

[poppyseed]

group b strep

how pregnant are you now, try and have another test done at around 35 weeks, as it comes and goes but here is a good link in the mean time that may be helpful:

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/gbs.htm#1

[luckymamato2]

I was + for GBS, and they wouldn't retest me. The m/w ended up not being able to get a vein, so I didn't them at the time of my labor/birth. My water broke 50 minutes before dd was born so she was low-risk for any infection. I was asked to stay at the birth center for 12 full hours, though, and I did that so we could all watch for signs of infection. I was ready to go home about 6-8 hours post-birth, but we stayed.

You can decline the antibiotics and use homeopathy to keep your vagina and surrounding tissues GBS-free.

[sanguine_speed]

FWIW, I refused the hep lock and antibiotics. Risk of infection is low if your water breaks shortly before delivery. A common consequence of the abx is thrush.

[SashaBear]

GBS is a common germ that lives in the colon that can be spread to the vagina/uterus. There is an article here on Mothering about the actual risks and statistics. I can't remember them offhand. The common routine is to test for GBS and then give antibiotics via IV during labor (the entire labor!). Go read the article.

[wombat]

I had a Certified Nurse Midwife for a planned homebirth and I chose to have the antibiotics, but I had them at home. Being GBS+ is quite common, the bad complications for the baby are quite rare, but can be devastating.

I've heard that if you're homebirthing, the risk is lower.

Tricare Prime paid for my CNM and homebirth, although I had to transfer to hospital (they paid for that too). Do a search on this site for 'tricare' and 'homebirth' - you'll find lots of threads on how and if you can do this. The military will tell you you can't do it but Tricare does cover homebirth with a CNM.

[Shelsi]

Originally Posted by wombat

I had a Certified Nurse Midwife for a planned homebirth and I chose to have the antibiotics, but I had them at home. Being GBS+ is quite common, the bad complications for the baby are quite rare, but can be devastating.

I've heard that if you're homebirthing, the risk is lower.

Tricare Prime paid for my CNM and homebirth, although I had to transfer to hospital (they paid for that too). Do a search on this site for 'tricare' and 'homebirth' - you'll find lots of threads on how and if you can do this. The military will tell you you can't do it but Tricare does cover homebirth with a CNM.

the problem for most is finding a CNM who does homebirth. Then in my case finding one that will take what Tricare pays them. That being said I am using an LM who actually got Tricare to cover her a few years back so it's always worth a shot.