Can you safley homebirth if group step b pos ??

[ohiomommy1122]

I had GBS w/ #2 and hospital was soooooooooo paroniod ( of course it is a hospital) so is it riskey foe home birth since midwives cant do iv anitbiotics what do they do?

[amygoforth]

I was concerned about this before my HB as well. When I asked my midwife about it, she conveyed that it is quite managable at home. If I remember correctly, she recommended rinsing with Hibaclens (I think?) periodicially throughout labor, although I'm not sure how it would be used. I ended up being BGS-neg, so it wasn't an issue.

[SublimeBirthGirl]

I would. I didn't get tested actually, and most of the HBers I know don't. Unless I had a prolonged rupture, I wouldn't really worry about it.

[alegna]

I didn't even test for gbs and won't in the future either.

-Angela

[onlyboys]

HB midwives here would be able to give you abx at home in an IV. If IV abx are important to you, check around, maybe your midwives can too!

[StrawberryFields]

I was GBS+ and my doctor told me that it shouldn't impact my decision to homebirth. She told me that I should consider transferring if my water had been broken for a long time, and to watch for symptoms like fever.

[momto l&a]

I dont know of any Hb'ers who got tested for GBS

[RumiWithAView]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

I dont know of any Hb'ers who got tested for GBS

Now you do.

I'm one. My midwife requires a visit to an independent midwife in an office setting to get final okay that I'm still low risk. Some people might not like that, but I actually found it reassuring. Anyway, when given the option on whether or not to test, I decided to. I haven't got my results back yet, and I'm not totally sure what I'll do if it comes back positive, but I wanted the info. That way, even if I decide to do nothing, I can still keep my eye out for possible complications.

[mamamoogs]

I am so confused regarding this GBS testing.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but i was told and under the iimpression that even if you test negative for GBS at 38 weeks or whenever they test you , that it doesnt mean that you are negative when you go into labor, i was told and yes read that you could be neg one day and then postive the next day, so in my eyes what's the point of testing?!

Shouldnt everyone who tests or dont tests still be aware of what gbs symptoms would look like in a newborn baby?
I dont know the test just seems pointless to me.

[torio]

Here midwives can give IV abx if necessary and desired by the birth mother, though they tend to do a shorter course than the hospital so mom isn't constantly hooked up during labor.

One thing to keep in mind is that should you need a to transfer many hospitals treat the lack of GBS testing as a need for treatment. Here it would mandate a 10-day stay in the NICU for the baby if I was A) not tested or B) tested positive but refused IV abx.

Fortunately our midwife encourages some natural treatments before the test and also to prepare for labor. The chances of GBS infection in the baby are very small, but premature birth and premature rupture of waters are both situations where infection is more likely.

[miriam]

My children are grown but I was never tested for this.

[huggerwocky]

You can still homebirth, I didn't test so who knows.....

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Originally Posted by mamamoogs

Please correct me if I am wrong, but i was told and under the iimpression that even if you test negative for GBS at 38 weeks or whenever they test you , that it doesnt mean that you are negative when you go into labor, i was told and yes read that you could be neg one day and then postive the next day, so in my eyes what's the point of testing?!

Shouldnt everyone who tests or dont tests still be aware of what gbs symptoms would look like in a newborn baby?
I dont know the test just seems pointless to me.

Yep.

[sbloom]

I am looking for information on being GBS+ and home birthing too. I had the test, by a medical midwife I saw for another matter, and it came back positive. I am now trying to gather as much information as possible to make an informed decision about what to do. I'm homebirthing, and IV abx are not an option at least for me, where I am. Even if they were, I've had an issue with yeast this whole pregnancy, and the IV abx could throw my whole system, that's just back on track, off again. We've woked so hard to avoid chances of Thrush, and now?!

Anyone have good info? I do know there is a hibiclens protocol of douching. What are people's thoughts on that? Here's my concerns: Hibiclens is still an antibiotic cleanser, and could kill all good and bad bacteria vaginally, still causing a yeast infection, and giving baby Thrush.

Also, that since a person can be GBS+ one day and negative a few days later, or vice-versa, is this really an accurate concern that we can really accurately treat, or is it just medical establishment stupidity trying to do something about something they can't really accurately know? I do know GBS can be a real danger for babies, but is it one we can "control" or not? Where do I find these answers?

Thanks for any info!
Samantha

[alegna]

Originally Posted by torio

One thing to keep in mind is that should you need a to transfer many hospitals treat the lack of GBS testing as a need for treatment. Here it would mandate a 10-day stay in the NICU for the baby if I was A) not tested or B) tested positive but refused IV abx.

MANDATE? What the H E double hockey sticks? They wouldn't MANDATE I put MY child in nicu for 10 days for no good reason... that's totally absurd....

-Angela

[soybeansmama]

In our area, if a mama didn't test or gbs status unknown, the dr orders a venous draw for cultures and crp, cbc to rule out sepsis. And based on results, they decide if the baby needs to be treated at the hospital. A round of vancomyacin, amp. or gent is at least a week.

[rmzbm]

Uggh - the more I read of crap like this (the "mandate" part, that is) the more my fear of hospitals grows...the more my fear of hospitals grows the more my comfort level with homebirth grows...who says fear isn't productive?

[homewithtwinsmama]

hibiclens

I did not test for GBS but I did do a hibiclens wash three times starting at 35 weeks (when you would test for it) before the baby showed up at 37 1/2 weeks after 5 days with my membranes released. I don't know if I was positive or not, but was glad I did the wash given how labor played out. Because I had done that and showed no signs of problems with fever or white cell count (we drew blood every other day) we just waited for labor and all was well. If you want to do the wash get some chlorohexidine(Hibiclens is a brand name) and put a 1/4 inch in the bottom of a peri bottle (squeeze bottle you use on sore butt after birth while peeing) and then fill rest of way with water. Lay back in tub and without pressure or pushing it in forcefully, let solution flow into vagina. Kegel up and hold it in there as long as you can. Let go, get up and it will flow out. I did it twice a week before birth rather than in labor. I wanted to be negative before labor began. Other midwives do it other ways, this was just how we did it. The European study this is based on did do vaginal washes in labor.

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by mamamoogs

Please correct me if I am wrong, but i was told and under the iimpression that even if you test negative for GBS at 38 weeks or whenever they test you , that it doesnt mean that you are negative when you go into labor, i was told and yes read that you could be neg one day and then postive the next day, so in my eyes what's the point of testing?!

Shouldnt everyone who tests or dont tests still be aware of what gbs symptoms would look like in a newborn baby?
I dont know the test just seems pointless to me.

Yes! A friend of mine just birthed with GBS+ and they pumped three bags of penicillin in her! Egads! :

[the_lissa]

If you test here, midwives can do iv abx at home.

If I was gbs positive, I would try natural remedies.

Here, if you transfer without a gbs test result, they just keep an eye on the baby if there are other risk factors such as prom or maternal fever.