Stinkin' GBS-now I'm a bit freaked!

[mommycakes]

I wasn't, but then I started reading.

Let me start at the beginning, we're planning a HB and my dh is on board but he's always been a little nervous and reluctant. We had a good hospital birth center experience the fist time around (mw attended, natural/normal birth) and he doesn't really see the reason to do things differently. Today we went to my 38 week appt. to find out I tested pos. for GBS. I didn't with my first pregnancy but just had this feeling that I would this time. Because of this I'd been paying attention to the various threads and research regarding GBS for the past month or so. I confidently told my mw that I would refuse abx and opt for a Hibiclens wash. She was just as confidant with that decision and I was feeling pretty good about everything. My dh asked NO questions during the appointment and just politely smiled and nodded (grr), then we get outside and he casually asks, "now, what's GBS again?". I quickly answered his question and told him I'd email the research regarding Hibiclens and general info of GBS and it's risks, etc.

I did that and then I kept reading. OY! Now I'm afraid. But I'm afraid for either decision (abx or hibiclens)--I'm afraid because, though the risk of infection is so small, I'll have to watch my baby so closely and wonder continuously if everything will be o.k. My mw assured me today that once you're past the first 24 hours, the risk of anything happening is diminished greatly, but still...there's always a horror story or the worst case scenario.

I guess it's hard for me b/c it's something I can't control at all. I know the risks so I can't just trust that everything will be o.k.

I guess I just need some reassurance here.

Any good stories to share? I need a boost.

[mommycakes]

Dh is home and we've talked some more. I'm calm again. I'm sure it'll all be fine.

Good/positive stories still welcome

[Bellejar]

I've got it, I will happily do antibiotics if I get there 6 hours prior to delivery. Because my labors tend to be pretty fast once they start - I am really pretty sure because I am delivering at the hospital they will require a 48 hour stay. I will cry if this happens. I would not be able to leave AMA, it is not in my genetic code

[zaner'smama]

I just went through this last week. I was negative in my first pregnancy too, and very disappointed to test positive this time. I know the risks are real and it made me nervous (friend of a friend's daughter had complications), but I also know the risks of antibiotics so hibiclens seemed like the best choice. I bet you've already seen these links, but I'll share them anyway just in case:

https://www.birthwithlove.com/pdf/GBS/pdf/GBSCHLOR.pdf
http://www.birthcottage.com/images/GBS%20Protocol.PDF

The first one really helped set my mind at ease, because the study showed that results were similar with hibiclens and antibiotics. The second one contains specific instructions for how to use it. I attached that to my birth plan and took it to the hospital with me.
My doctor was totally comfortable with me using the hibiclens. He said the risks were so minimal after the 37th week he would be fine with using nothing at all. However, he did want me to call and come in right away if my water were to break, rather than labor at home. The birth center made a bigger deal of it than my doctor. They insisted that I talk to the pediatrician about it, and went over the risks with me. The pediatrician was fine with my decision.
My birth center is located in the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital, the birth center was full and I had to go to triage (sp?) for a couple of hours. There was one nurse in triage who was a bit difficult about it and said using hibiclens was against hospital policy. Of course I'd already cleared it with my doctor and I brought my own solution that I was determined to use, so she dropped it.
After my son was born, the worst part was all of the blood they had to take from him. We also had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours to make sure all of his tests were fine. I didn't mind that part because it meant 2 days of relaxing and having someone else cook for me.
So that's our story. We had no problems and if I had to do it again, I'd definitely do the same. I hope you can find a decision you are comfortable with. Good luck!

[gretasmommy]

I was also GBS positive this pregnancy, negative the first time.

As for the abx - you know, it's not all that bad. You get one dose every 4 hours of Penicillin (or similar drug fs allergic). That's it. For strep throat you'd get that twice daily for a week . . .

I got one dose of abx. That's it. Not so bad . . . and I am grateful for the protection for Zelda. But this is the choice we make everyday for ourselves and our little ones. There is a great deal of information out there, both good and bad, scary and reassuring. As parents we need to weed through that information and decide which sources are credible and then how we balance the risk/benefit ratios for our families.

[Bella Mia]

Same situation here - I wasn't GBS pos with my first but was with this one.

I ended up going with the abx at the hospital - I barely made it in time to get both doses before I pushed the baby out

It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought although I did not like being hooked up to the IV whike I was in transition.

I just took probiotics after delivery to keep yeast at bay.

Good luck with everything - it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

[Jes'sBeth]

My mw told me that there's HUGE debate around GBS protocols within the medical community. In particular, peds tend to want to see baby without abx because they want to know the exact dosage baby got etc. OB's think that abx are necessary to prevent transmission (at least here in Canada)

I know both good and bad stories about GBS but all of the bad stories involve care providers catching the GBS fairly early because it's actually easy to see in terms of how baby is responding. Since you're being followed by a midwife, you'll be followed closely and she'll pick up anything that's 'not right' anyway.

You've made a sound medical choice. Be confident.

[3kids2love]

This is my third pregnancy being GBS +. I had antibiotics with the last two, but since doing more research on the subject, I'm not convinced that routine antibiotics are necessarily the be-all end-all. There are risks involved with antibiotics, too. Resistance is becoming more common, which is actually worse for the baby. Also, if you look at the studies comparing hibiclens to antibiotics, you'll see that e coli was actually less common in the hibiclens groups than the antibiotics groups. While e coli infections aren't as common in newborns, they can still pose a serious problem. We're planning a home birth this time, and when I tested positive again (no surprise there), my mw put me on a hibiclens regimen for 3 days and we re-tested. I did the vaginal wash with 1 tsp. hibiclens in 6 oz. of boiled (and cooled) water twice a day. My second test just came back negative today. Once I go into labor, I'm going to do the wash every 2-3 hours. I'm also going to use it to rinse off the area around the perineum and anus (since GBS can also be present in the digestive tract). I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about the hibiclens, but after re-testing negative, I'm now confident that it works.

[gretasmommy]

Oh, the Hibiclens definitely works! For me, though, labor is too quick. Even our breech baby , who should have been a "slow labor" accd to our MW, would have been born in under 2 hours if I weren't a c/s anyway! The first sign of labor for me apparently is my water breaking, and then it's a fast paced process to pushing in about an hour with baby number 2 (only finger tip dilated earlier that day!).

I am not so worried about resistance for me or our babes in that we almost never use abx . . . . one dose isn't going to induce resistance - but hibiclens is a good alternative, if you can do it/keep it up as you should during labor . . .

Good luck to you all!

[jerawo]

I've had 2 homebirths and been GBS+ both times and did nothing to treat either time. My labors go so fast at the end, there really isn't time to do anything except catch a baby. ABX are pointless, because we'd never have enough time to get 3 doses in and we never bothered with the hibiclens since I'm ready to push or pushing when the MW shows up. With my first, I met none of the risk factors (my water broke 20 minutes before he was born, he was at 39 weeks, no fever, etc). With my second I met one of the risk factors since she came at 36 weeks, but my water also broke less than 5 minutes before she was born and she wasn't in the birth canal very long. We kept our eye on her temperature for a week, but it was normal. My Ped never seemed too concerned, probably because an infection due to GBS is so rare.

[kdaisy]

Thanks for the links, zaner'smama.

I am GBS+ as well. This is my first and we are planning a homebirth. My MW doesn't seem too concerned with it. Her protocol is just to be more cautious about letting me labor too long, how long my membranes have been ruptured, and taking the baby's temperature more. I think I may try the Hibiclens route though, if I can. I think we still have Hibiclens in the house from a surgery that DH had. I wonder how long that is stuff is good?

Something I remind myself about is what I read elsewhere on this board, that even a GBS- mother can be become colonized a week or two after the test and prior to labor, and no one would even know it! I imagine that happens quite a bit. IMO, the standard testing and blanket antibiotics is just another way for doctors to protect themselves.

[mommycakes]

Originally Posted by zaner'smama

the worst part was all of the blood they had to take from him.

Why did they have to take blood? Especially if the dr. and ped. were feeling o.k. with your decision and the minimal risk?

My understanding is that the Hibiclens wash can be just as effective as abx w/o all the risks of the abx.

My mw was actually excited that I was choosing the Hibiclens. She made it seem that once we got past the first few hours, and especially the first 12 hours, we could breathe a sigh of relief. I know other text says 48 hours, but I thought that was if there was little to no treatment.

I don't know : I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the decision making process. Of course, I want to do what's best for our family, but it's just so confusing.

[mommycakes]

Originally Posted by Jes'sBeth

My mw told me that there's HUGE debate around GBS protocols within the medical community. In particular, peds tend to want to see baby without abx because they want to know the exact dosage baby got etc. OB's think that abx are necessary to prevent transmission (at least here in Canada)

I know both good and bad stories about GBS but all of the bad stories involve care providers catching the GBS fairly early because it's actually easy to see in terms of how baby is responding. Since you're being followed by a midwife, you'll be followed closely and she'll pick up anything that's 'not right' anyway.

You've made a sound medical choice. Be confident.

THANK YOU, I think so too

[mommycakes]

Thanks for the info 3kids2love. Good stuff. Very helpful, I'll take your mw's advice and do a few washes before labor.

[zaner'smama]

Originally Posted by mommycakes

Why did they have to take blood? Especially if the dr. and ped. were feeling o.k. with your decision and the minimal risk?

At my hospital, it's standard procedure to take blood and run tests if antibiotics are declined. It would have been ok, but the nurses had trouble getting blood and had to try several times. That was awful.