Gbs?

[angie6282]

Did anyone else decline the GBS test? My midwife asked me about it last week and I decided not to have it when I did a little research online and found out only .5% of all babies contract it. Plus the risks from taking antibiotics if you do test positive for GBS can cause a host of other problems. That's really all I know about it after researching but thought I would see if anyone on here knows anything else about it and/or declined the test.

[Chavaleh]

I considered declining it but hopefully I'll be positive and it won't be an issue. I suspect if I turned it down they'd treat me as though I tested positive and require me to stay 48 hours for turning down the antibiotics. This way if I'm positive I can get out of there asap. I won't take the antibiotics if I am positive.

[To-Fu]

There have been a couple of threads about this, but I don't have time to dig them up at the moment.

I decided to take the test in hopes that I'll be negative. My MW says that even if it comes up positive, there are still things we can do that don't involve antibiotics. Plus, if we need to transfer and I have a negative test result to flash, it works in my favor. If I have no test results, they'll just treat me as though I'm positive and pump me full of junk. No, thanks.

[sunkist33]

I'm still on the fence about this...my GBS test is next Wednesday. I'm taking a lot of garlic & vitamin C & eating lots of yogurt, don't know if it'll "work" but it certainly can't hurt!
I tested pos+ with dd #1 and had the IV antibiotics during labour & then she was given them after birth because I had a *slight* fever during labour Anyways, I would really like to avoid the IV & ABX this time, but at the same time if I do test pos+ again, I think I would worry about that .5%, so I'm torn and just praying to test neg- so I don't have to worry about it!
Stacy (Feb DDC)

[southernmommie]

actually there have been tons of threads on this the past 2 weeks!!

I did the test and it came back negative. I wanted to know just so I could be extra vigilant on the lookout for symptoms after birth. I am UCing so that means no antibiotics, but I would refuse anyways if transfered.

[newmama8824]

I took it, I assumed if I didn't then I would be treated as if I did have it in case of an emergency so I would just rather know.

[rootzdawta]

Already had my baby but I declined the test with had the mindset that I would proceed as if I had it if I presented with any risk factors e.g. prolonged rupture of membranes, high fever, etc. I was positive with my first baby. Labor was quick, though and my waters broke at the very end so no need for any interventions or anything..

[wednesday]

I've been on the fence about it. I'm still interviewing midwives but one I just spoke to said she recommends it because if you get a neg, then you don't have to worry, and in the case of a hospital transfer they won't freak out and assume positive status and demand IV abx. And she said if I were to test positive, then we could do garlic and hibiclens and try to knock out the infection before the baby comes.

[desert_mommi]

We declined b/c I was pos with first two kids.
I'm proceeding as if I'll be positive again.
I'm doing hibiclens, garlic, probiotics etc
My midwife is comfortable with that and we won't re-test.

Chris

[eloise24]

I declined . . . my midwife said she didn't really think it was necessary, based on risk assessment. IE: fever in labor, ROM for longer than 12 hours or labor before 37 weeks. I'm so thankful she was so positive and encouraging of my decision! Reminds me how grateful I am for her!

[motherlode]

I tested positive for GBS this time (I was never tested for my first baby 8 years ago). My midwife prescribed a whole host of remedies including probiotics 3x a day, grapefruit seed extract 3x a day, vit C and inserting whole peeled garlic clove into my vagina each night. We retested after 10 days and I came back negative. I have done a lot of reading on this and some midwives recommend cutting the garlic so that the good parts are more easily absorbed. I recommend threading a string through the garlic for easy retrieval (a couple of "lost" garlic cloves convinced me of the wisdom of the string method). Also, if you are positive, there is strong evidence against any internal exams. We are doing a home birth and I really didn't want the antibiotics but we are going to do hibaclens washes during labor as an extra precaution. A negative test can convert back to a positive so it is also recommended to keep doing the treatment up until labor. Most of the alternative advice on-line leads in the direction of the garlic being the most helpful (and the hibaclens wash) so I am continuing the garlic each night until delivery - which I hope is really soon, my due date was yesterday.
Kathy

[bobandjess99]

I have not had it in 2 pregnancies

[DoulaLMT]

I took the test because I wanted to have a negative test to show in case of hospital transfer, so they don't automatically give me abx. Fortunately I was negative, but I was VERY glad I did the test for another reason - we did a vaginal culture and found that I had moderate yeast, even though I've had zero symptoms. I was glad to get that treated before birth, so hopefully we won't have to deal with thrush, which we might have otherwise had to deal with.