germphobic GBS question

[AbbieB]

I tend to get a little germ phobic around the birth of my babies. I know this may be a way over the top concern...just chalk it up to at 34 weeks this pregnant woman needs something to obsess over.

So in the middle of the night I wake up with this crazy idea: Can someone transfer beta strep to another person through things like laundry?

A little background: I am planning a home birth. My good friend is coming to stay with me (she is 2000 miles away) to be here to help with DD and to be here for birth/post partum help.

My friend had 2 GBS positive pregnancies. She home birthed. Both babies ended up in the NICU for weeks with complications directly related to the GBS. Both babies had a labor and birth (quick, born in the call, slightly over the EDD) that were optimal for not transferring GBS to them. Her midwife (who is also mine) said that she thought she must have a particularly nasty strain of BS for it to not respond to medication and be passed on so easily.

So again, should I be concerned about catching beta strep from her by say washing our towels and underwear in the same load? Or is there some other way I might catch it?

And again, I recognize I am being way over the top paranoid.

[mwherbs]

good question-- don't have answers for you it is considered to be "normal" flora at this point because so many women have/carry it-- it is also considered to be sexually transmitted, as well as living in the intestines-- the other animal that has prevalent GBS/Streptococcus agalactiae is cows-- they get a chronic infection in their milk ducts and it seems that the strain of GBS that attaches deeply to tissues and can make babies very sick is the same strain that the cows have( they have even done the genetic studies and they match up) now how did we get a cow teat infection? pasturized milk.. is suppose to be sterile -- now there is some strong associations between intestinal flora and vaginal/urinary critters -- how it is passed from person to person besides sex and birth I don't know-- maybe thru eating foods...are shared eating utensils or shared bathrooms -- bedding or clothes washing don't know how it is all passed on -- I would be prudent about washing things-- now something to say is that GBS is somewhat like a weed- once other things are wiped out then it florishes, and then keeps other bacteria at bay--- so keeping healthy flora on surfaces and in our bodies are some of the the best protections--- it doesn't like acidic conditions--

[AbbieB]

Interesting info. Thank you very much!

[Synchro246]

Late onset GBS infection in the newborn is not usually related to birth, but colonization & infection that occurs afterwords, often from not washing hands frequently.