I'm Positive for Group B Strep

[snozzberry]

I know it's not the end of the world, but I'm still bummed about needing antibiotics during labor. I've tried so hard to be careful about what I put in my body this whole pregnancy.

Any other positive mamas out there? I need to do some research on the drugs they use to see if there are specific detox things I can do after labor for me and baby.

But really, in the grand scheme of things if this baby turns head-down for me, I don't mind this too much!

[neainak]

An Alternative

I also tested positive for GBS. My midwife prescribed an herbal regimen for a week and a vaginal wash with Hibiclens(clorhexidine sol.) the night before and again just prior to my appt. the following week. Tested again and it came back negative. If you want to avoid the iv antibiotics I would be glad to share the info with you. My midwife said of all the women she's had do this only one has retested positive.

Nicole

<a href='http://pregnancyandbaby.com'><img src='http://legacy.sheknows.com/pregnancy/ticker/pregnancy/pregtickers15-29-1202976000-0.png' border=0></a>

[Writerbird]

Sorry to hear that

Check your provider's policy before you go looking for treatments - my practice will not allow their mothers to skip the antibiotics if they tested positive at any point in the last month.

Seriously. When I did my test (negative, phew), I asked about retaking if I came up positive, and was told that it didn't matter. They have been really pretty flexible in terms of letting me decline/delay various things, but they were absolutely rigid on this.

They did say I had options in terms of how the drugs were delivered - I could apparently have done a dose in the office and then another when I checked in for delivery, as opposed to several hours with an IV drip during labor.

[Theia]

I also tested positive for GBS. My MW suggested some remedies that can be found in Aviva Romm's book "The Natural Pregnancy Book". From your sig it looks like you have a few weeks to go, which is enough time to get this taken care of in a more natural way without having to get the antibiotics in the hospital.

Basically what I have been using is a group of 3 herbal tinctures. Echinacea, Astragulas, and Burdock Root. I take them 2 times daily, about 5 droppers full of each. I haven't retested yet, but I expect it will be fine by the time I do retest.

neainak: Could you share the remedy that your MW suggested? I just like to know stuff like that for my own knowledge IYKWIM. Thanks.

Good luck, and you'll be fine.

[smokeylo]

GBS is def. a drag but not the end of the world. The abx are annoying more than anything. I would make sure to have lots of probiotics/kefir/yogurt for post partum so that neither of you develop a yeast infection or thrush - that's always my biggest worry with a round of abx during the establishment of BFing. Good luck, TURN BABY TURN!

[LawrenceDoula]

My midwife has women who have tested positive in the past (she doesn't test you herself, you have to go have it done if you want) take Oregon Grape Root. She only has you take it if your water breaks early or at the start of labor. She seems to be pretty convinced of it's effectiveness.

So it looks like there are a lot of options. And of course you can have a heparin lock and request that they remove the IV after the antibiotics are in.

Hope all goes well!

[lilyblossom]

I used a betadine swab around the areas they test about 3 days prior to the test. My naturopath said it would take care of the potential of testing positive and it worked. It was great because it took all of 2 minutes or less and since she gave me the swabs, it was super cheap.

If you can re-test, this might be good to do in conjunction with other natural methods. Just be sure you do it 3-4 days before your test or they may wonder why their swab comes out orange .

Good luck!

[zulupetalz]

Garlic works really well to treat GBS. Depending on your provider, some may let you treat with garlic or Hibaclens or something prior to labor.

[guestmama9972]

My mw said that false positives and false negatives are not too unusual for GBS. It depends some on the size of the colony and that can vary day to day. So you could test positive one week and negative the next, depending on your immune system and what other normal flora are growing.

She suggested the Hibiclens wash, garlic, vitamin c to boost one's immune system. Or the IV abx during labor.

You still have a choice in your health care. No one can *make* you do anything, even regarding GBS which people tend to get freaked out about.

[mishaj]

Hi Mamas,

We are doing the hibiclens and herbs as prevention as we didn't want to test due to the unreliable results and the fact it can change from day to day.
For under $20 it seems like a good thing to do and with a cold coming on- all those herbs and supplements can only help!

Good luck in your decision!

Mj

[Kitten]

You still have a choice in your health care. No one can *make* you do anything, even regarding GBS which people tend to get freaked out about.

:

If you don't want routine abx during labor, *no one* can make you get them. Hospital staff will sometimes put enormous pressure on you to try to convince you taht you MUST do this or that, but absolutely not true. And they cannot drop you this late in the game, that would be against federal law and illegal in all 50 states. If you decide you WANT to do teh abx that is your choice, but don't think you have to just roll over on it.

Personally I would only agree to abx or other treatments if I were positive, if I were actually showing risk factors during labor (fever, water broken more than 24 hours). I think we way overuse antibiotics here in the US and it is going to come back to bite us all in the a$$.

[lilyblossom]

Originally Posted by zulupetalz

Garlic works really well to treat GBS. Depending on your provider, some may let you treat with garlic or Hibaclens or something prior to labor.

OOOH, I've been meaning to post something about using Garlic for GBS, thanks for reminding me!

I was discussing this option with my naturopath and she suggested not using garlic because it's very caustic. She has seen people end up with lesions in their vagina from using garlic cloves as remedies for various things.

I know a lot of mamas have used it successfully and I think that's great! Just wanted to pass along some other info for those of you trying to make a decsion on how to prevent GBS!

[Mama2-4]

I tested negative (after a positive with 2nd baby). I used the probiotics and hibiclens wash.

I would ask for a retest.

If you are going to refuse the abx in labor, check with the hospital and pedi about the protocol for baby. They may require a 48 hour hospital stay and a few cbc's on the baby.

[Karri_B]

From what I remember, only around 1% of women who test GBS+ deliver a baby that is affected by it. So for a SMALL chance of something happening, they give the antibiotics to EVERYONE!

Remember that you have the right to refuse ANYTHING! Do some research on it and decide for yourself whether or not you need the antibiotics.

[LoveChild421]

I tested positive for GBS with ds1 and didn't do antibiotics...had ruptured membranes for 20 hours, several vaginal checks due to complications, etc. and still we had no problems...

It is your choice if you want to have the abx or not. What did you do prior to the test to get a neg.? I just did tampons soaked in yogurt (I opened a couple probiotics caps and mixed them in) and left them in overnight (did that for about a week). The good bacteria crowds out the GBS. I can't handle garlic in my yoni so I'm glad that worked so well for me and gave me a neg test result this time.

If you do decide to go with abx, make sure you take lots and lots (like 4-5 times the recommended dose on the bottle) of good quality probiotics. You can put some probiotic powder on your nipple for your little one to suck off when you nurse to help colonize her gut too. You really don't want to leave yourself open to thrush and yeast infections.

[Writerbird]

It's true that no one can make you do anything.

However, I am not familiar with an actual law that says a provider cannot cease having me as a patient even though I'm sitting here at 38 weeks. There exists no contractual relationship between me and the practice I go to. I would love to see a link or a copy of the law in question!

Yes, I could refuse their protocols, but they *can* then refuse to bear any potential responsibility for my birth. With most things, it's a simple waiver, and my midwife has been terrific about letting me sign stuff now so I won't get pressured in the hospital. For example, I'm not doing eye ointment or the Hep B nonsense. About this one issue (GBS), though, the practice is just not willing to discuss it. (I was absolutely NOT threatened, by the way, I have a great relationship with the midwife.)

But things like this are why the initial interview was so important, so I wouldn't be sitting at 38 weeks facing down a serious philosophy clash!

[ratlover]

My last pregnancy I tested positive for GBS. I had the IV antibiotics, but for some reason did develop a fever during my longish labor, and my baby was born with pneumonia. She had to stay in the NICU for a week, and even though she was a robust 9 pounder, apparently it was pretty touch and go that first night. So I'm a little biased in thinking that GBS is nothing to take lightly.
Janine

[neainak]

One week of Echinacea, Garlic, Emergen-C, and Acidophilus(refrigerated capsules) taken according to bottle/pkg directions. A vaginal wash of 1part Hibiclens to 20parts water the night before and just prior to your retest.
My retest came back negative(woo-hoo!)

~Nicole
mom to Sally & Salsa, not so patiently awaiting the arrival of Killian James 2/14/2008

[True Blue]

What if you just show up very last minute at the hospital? They can't give it to you if you're almost ready to push LOL.

[Kitten]

I'm sorry that your baby got sick Janine. I did a quick google search and did not see GBS listed as one of the main causes of bacterial pneumonia. Do you know if she had viral or bacterial pneumonia? The antibiotics used in labor for GBS may not have done anything anyway for the pneumonia your baby came down with. Not all antibiotics work against all bacterial infections, some antibiotics are meant to work against some bacteria and others work against others.

And if the pneumonia were caused by GBS, I think this maybe proves my point that overusing antibiotics only makes them useless when you really do need them. There's really not much point in routinely giving them to women who have zero other risk factors. It will just make them useless when they really truly are needed, like for actual sick people, since bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics over time. I am a molecular biologist so I am not just talking out of my rear here. I do not take GBS lightly. Handing out antibiotics like candy to people who don't really need them is taking it lightly.

And here is the link for a paper on the various laws and precedents for why dumping a pregnant woman at the end of pregnancy is illegal.
http://ican-online.net/resources/whi...egalprimer.pdf
It is specifically geared towards VBACS but these laws and precedents cover all treatments for pregnant women, as ICAN explains.