strep b & homebirth - Page 2

[EKilgore]

thanks again for all the info. must admit that i am more confused than ever. i truly believe ab's are very appropriate at times. my god, people 75 yrs ago had very high mortality rates from things like pneumonia. i do think they are overused though, and i can't help but think of the implications of about 1/3 of newborns beings exposed to ab's as the course of treatment for gbs calls for. true, if I exclude the risk factors (PROM, early delivery, maternal fever/symptoms), this lowers the risk of the babe developing an infection to about 1 in 200. according to the center for disease control though, IV ab's lower the risk of infection to about 1 in 4,000. these are the #'s that are getting to me. i agree that ab's also carry risks, such as susceptibility to e. coli, but is that risk smaller than 1 in 200? again, i wish there was more scientific data on the effectiveness of natural remedies.
of course i do not "wish" for my baby to enter the world in a less than peaceful way. thank god i am educated on birth interventions etc. i have a birth plan written up in case of transfer to hospital (and folks besides me to ensure that it is followed) so i can rest assured that my wishes are honored. i will also have my mom with me, a hb midwife who has attended lots of births at home and with family members at the hospital, so she's an awesome advocate. she was at her sister's birth at a hospital and as baby was crowning asked the doctor to move over and she caught the baby. what i am most nervous about in the hospital is having to fight battles over my wishes- it's pretty much the last thing i want to be doing while in labor and birthing. i am just working on being at peace with whatever course this takes. i recently read birthing from within and that really instilled in me the idea that while we need to be knowledgable and take control of what we can, we need to be open to our births taking different directions. my husband and i will do alot of talking this weekend i am sure!

[StrawberryFields]

I was GBS+ and my doctor told me and my midwife that in her opinion it shouldn't affect my decision to homebirth. She ran down all the statistics of course about 1 in 200 vs. 1 in 4,000 with IV abx but in the end told me that in her opinion I should continue as planned and consider transporting to the hospital if my water was broken for a long period of time and/or I developed a fever. I ended up transporting for other reasons but that is probably what I would have done if it became an issue.

[Full Heart]

Just to give you alittle more piece of mind there are about 4 million delivers in the US every year. Death rate for GBS is 80 neonates. They figure even if we test everyone and everyone + gets avx in labor that number would only drop to 30. 1 in 10 women has a reaction to abx (and the death rate from abx is 1 in 4000). And who knows how high the ecoli rate would be.

[Miyelani]

I'm 39.5 weeks now and haven't tested for GBS--is it too late to use the hibiclens? Where do I get this? Are probiotics labeled exactly that "probiotic tablets". Is it too late to start these? Do you have brand recommendations/quantity recommendations?

I didn't test b/c the numbers seemed so minimal, but I wouldn't mind taking some extra steps, just to be extra careful

Thanks!

[mezzaluna]

Originally Posted by Gray's Mommy

I tested positive also for GBS (urine & swab cultures) & will be getting antibiotics in labor. Since I have a horrible UTI (from the GBS) I am on antibiotics now. That may wipe out the GBS, so I wouldn't need it during labor. Anyways, I have done my homework & feel good about my decision about using anti. in labor if I need them. Do what you feel is right & that will be the right choice for you.

a urinary tract colonization indicates a very high colonization and therefore a more compelling reason to take the abx than if it's just found in a vaginal/rectal swab.

i accepted abx for my hospital birth last time, and tried to mitigate the risks of the antibiotics in two ways - exclusive nursing - no formula, and taking probiotics for about a month after giving birth. i was hesitant to take probiotics before birth, or to give them to my DS, but in retrospect i probably should have done both of those things as well.

[p1gg1e]

Originally Posted by Miyelani

I'm 39.5 weeks now and haven't tested for GBS--is it too late to use the hibiclens? Where do I get this? Are probiotics labeled exactly that "probiotic tablets". Is it too late to start these? Do you have brand recommendations/quantity recommendations?

I didn't test b/c the numbers seemed so minimal, but I wouldn't mind taking some extra steps, just to be extra careful

Thanks!

Hibiclens you can get at the pharmacy and probiotics I get at a health food store. Probiotics are refrigerated and you want to make sure they aren't enteric coated if you are going to use them Vag.

[Lynski]

I read a lot about this before my hb. I was GBS+ with my first (hospital) and had abx. It really made labor miserable. It was hard for them to get the IV, and they insisted on doing it during a contraction. Just stay still, no biggie, right? Plus the abx burned like mad!

Anyway that's not the point. My mw recommended the hibiclens too. The risk is very small, IMO. As pamamidwife said, you can reduce the risk by refusing vag exams. I ate a ton of plain old yogurt during my pregnancy too. In the end I was neg so it didn't matter, but it wouldn't have changed my mind about homebirth.