Group B strep - Page 2

[AutumnMoonfire]

There was a time, prior to testing that GBS killed babies, I agree with Erin that not everyone needs antibiotics in labor but I do want to say to the home birthing mamas that at the hospital I work in we do vital signs every 4 hours on babies of GBS+ moms. We are looking for increased resperations (60+ per minute)labored respirations, or babies who can't seem to stay warm no matter what we do. This is done regardless of Mom getting antibiotics "in time" as well as regardless of vag birth or c-sections. Another warning sign that would trigger closer attention would be low blood suger despite nursing well. I don't think home birth mamas check that, but cold babies can sometimes be "cured" by nursing. They are cold partly because they are hungry. I could go on and on, but if you are GBS+ select a pedi you can really talk to and who listens closely.

I may work at a hospital but I have no problem with home birth. I think it's cool in fact and would have done it if I could have found a midwife for my first. By the time dd#2 came along, I worked there and felt like I was home.

[DirtyHippie]

With homebirth/birth center births they are instructed what to look for. No they do not make a common practice of checking blood sugar because it is invasive and unless they show signs they dont so it. A lot of it is trust in mom.

[megangaia]

What about garlic? My midwife suggested that to me when I tested positive. I don't know the details, but I've used garlic to kill yeast infections

[indigolilybear]

homeopathic rem. and psychological

I tested positive w/ baby one. and my midwives gave me a homeopathic remedy that didn't work and then a homeopathic suppository treatment. This did work but some psychological work I did also during this time was to talk positively to my vagina. I know this may sound crazy but I theorized that the idea of having germs or sickness in my yoni was something that I could change w/the way I viewed myself/body and perphaps my body trying to tell me something....a way for healing.
my husband and I talked to my yoni each night telling it that it was beautiful, clean, healthy, etc. I consider myself to be a fairly body aware type person but was surprised at how healing this felt. I realized how many detrimental ideas were still held there and tried to release them and just love my body and yoni. <sigh> what a long path!!!
well, I"m sure this is kind of weird for some people but it might strike a cord w/ others. hope this helps

[valeria_vi]

Re: homeopathic rem. and psychological

indigolilybear,
could you please share which treatments did you use and also how did you make sure that the effect lasted up to your delivery?

[oddonein]

I personally would not use garlic to treat GBS. Garlic can increase bleeding which is defintely not something you want to do before giving birth.

[indigolilybear]

Re: Re: homeopathic rem. and psychological

[
>indigolilybear,
could you please share which treatments did you use and also how did you make sure that the effect lasted up to your delivery? ]

I am not sure of teh name of teh treatments, they were given to my by my midwives.....if someone needs to know, you could call their business "birth babies and beyond" in Encinitas, CA. They may be able to help you.
they did repeat cultures and I had had one neg. back by the time I delivered my baby. Protocol calls for *2* neg. tests back before you don't have to use antibiotics.....my midwife took a leap of faith on it and went ahead anyway w/o them.

[erika]

Group B Strep does cause miscarriages!

just wanted to clarify something - gbs can cause 2nd trimester miscarriages and preterm labor. "GBS appeared to be the most significant pathogen in midgestation miscarriage, especially with intact membranes" (from “Intrauterine infection and spontaneous midgestation abortion: is the spectrum of microorganisms similar to that in preterm labor?” Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol 2000;8(5-6):220-7)

women with repeated 2nd trimester (not 1st) miscarriages are often treated -not continously- but intermittently with antibiotics throughout pregnancy and go on to have full-term pregnancies.

prophylactic antibiotics in labor are not associated with e. coli, but antibiotic exposure throughout pregnancy IS associated with e.coli.

gbs comes and goes and it is correct that the culture must be done around 37 weeks to be accurate - however, gbs earlier in pregnancy can be problematic as well.

i had 2 homebirths with iv antibiotics (the iv was removed immediately after). it was probably overkill, but since i never take antibiotics otherwise i didn't think a dose during labor would cause resistance. ironically, i probably would not have had antibiotics in a hospital because my only risk factor was a positive culture. however, since the baby was not being monitored for 24-48 hours after birth (yay!) by hospital staff, my midwife prefers to err on the side of caution.

it's a risk-benefit analysis that those with gbs have to make.

[sarahwebb]

Originally posted by Allana
I tested neg for GBS while preg with my first and she came down with GBS at 5 weeks. <snip> I opted to go for the anitbiotics during the labor of my 2nd...

Dear Allana and everyone,

I'm curious, how likely is it that your first daughter caught GBS from you? Are there other ways that an infant or child could contract this infection?

New and learning,
Sarah

[Allana]

From how it was explained to me is that she contracted it from me during delivery. I haven't heard about other ways to contract it. I had a very long pushing stage with her (four hours), so she was exposed for a while. I just assumed that could have played a part. I had no other symptoms they say to look for. The pediatrician that treated her said that for her to have gotten sick so late is very rare, but it does happen.

The midwife I had for my son's birth said that she wouldn't rupture my membranes and that she recomending the antibiotics. As it turns out my water broke, but I never started contractions and because of the GBS factor I had to go in after a few hours and start pit and antibiotics. I opted for the pitocin, so I wouldn't have to have so much of the antibiotics during labor. It actually wasn't as bad as I had feared. I couldn't tell the difference with pitocin induced contractions and the ones I had naturally with my daughter. I think that was due to the fact that my water had broken on its own, and I had started to dialate and my cervix was soft, so my body was ready, but needed a little help getting started. My labor nurse monitered the contractions very carefully so they didn't come on to fast and hard. She was really helpful. I was still able to achieve a natural birth with out pain medication. The biggest pain was that they had to monitor the baby closely, so I wasn't able to be as mobile as I wanted. Anyway, this turned out to be a labor story. I do think that if I am ever to have another baby (we're pretty sure we are done!), I am going to look into more information, so I don't have to deal with antibiotics and IV's.

[mama milkshake]

strep b & waterbirth

I want to have a home water birth next time. I tested + for strep b last time. Is it dangerous to have a waterbirth at home if you are strep b positive at the time of labor and delivery?

[melissaworld]

Strep B Holistic Approach

For holistic preventative care see: http://www.birthlove.com/pages/gloria/strep_b.html
Excellent information! Don't know about GBS and water birth, but I've never heard of it being a big enough factor that stopped someone from having one. I would think that as long as you're using preventative care it wouldn't be a problem, but will look further into this matter. Hmm.. now I'm curious to know.
HTH!

[yaboobarb]

Help! B Strep Positive and Wanted Home Birth

Hi all!
I was just wondering if anyone here has any experience with delivering at home with positive B strep results.

I am 37 weeks pregnant and I went to pick up my chart from my my doctor (who just dropped me as a back up doctor, but that is on another thread) and I was told that the test I just took this week came back positive for B strep.

Usually what they do is give IV antibiotics in the hospital during labor... but I am not going to the hospital.

I contacted my midwife (whom I trust ), and she told me that all was still well (in other words don't panic) she gave me some data about B strep, and she told me to contact the baby's Dr ( who will be there at the birth, or very soon after) and talk to him.


I will call my doctor, but I was wondering if anyone out there had experience with this, and I was hoping that you could share some stories about how it was delt with during or after your home birth.

Thank you all!
Barbara

[cheryl]

Hey Barbara,
I was gbs+ with my last baby, though I had waived the test and didn't know...thus necessitating a transport to the hospital from my homebirth plans when I developed a fever and baby's heartrate was elevated.
So...first....I think it's great that you found out your status on this...and that's from a pretty hardcore "test waiver signer".
Now, as for what course of action they take depends on where you live and what the laws allow. In Florida, midwives are allowed to used IV antibiotics at a homebirth for gbs, as long as they obtain a prescription ahead of time. (This I misunderstood, which is why I waived the test last time...stupid me!)
My backup OB has required that I use antibiotics for this homebirth, even though I have tested negative for gbs twice this pregnancy. I will be given a heplock, so I'm only hooked up to the iv as long as it takes to drip in each dose (about 20 minutes per).
They like to see 2 doses go in before baby arrives, and the doses I believe, though I could be wrong...(happens) are about 4 hours apart. So, unless you have a precipitous labor, you should be able to satisfy them on that one.
But again...it depends on what your midwife is legally allowed to do.

[Serenity]

Hi Barbara, I'm also in NJ and my homebirth midwife has said that she could do antibiotics through an IV at my home if I needed it. She is a CNM. I think you could ask about this possibility for you.

[candiland]

The midwife I use does two intramuscular injections of penicillin before the birth, while the woman is in labor. Also, in Europe, it's the norm for a woman to take a routine oral dose of antibiotics for a week or two leading up to the due date. The reason ob/gyns don't use it here is because "a woman can't be trusted to take all her prescribed medication." Ya know, to cover their as*es in case anything goes wrong.... that's why iv.s are used, because it is done where it can be documented in the woman's chart and it can be "professionally administered".:

[indigolilybear]

i had a homebirth w/baby one w/beta strep pos results. there is another thread here (or maybe at "i'm preg.") about this a while ago w/lots of good posts.
anyway, i did homeopathic remedy (didn't work for me) and homeopathic suppositories (that did work along w/my own personal intuitive work!!--may sound weird but it's what i believed the beta strep thing was truly about). you are supposed to have 2 neg. results back before you can deliver w/o antibiotics (you can also take them orally around due date time) but I had only had one neg. result back. however, my midwife said she felt i was fine. and we were!!
didn't test w/baby two. bottom line, as you midwife informed you, shouldn't be any big deal. and the odds are w/you!!
just get in touch w/your body. beta strep at best is a very controversial thing. most women actually are beta strep pos and on the aformentioned thread someone had a good link to some great info.
good luck and happy birthing!! you can do it.

[yaboobarb]

Thank you all!
It is great to hear such reassuring things! My midwife is telling me the same things.

Just to be safe, I meet with the Ped. on Friday, and if I hear anything different or interesting I will let you know!

The OB-DR (who was my parallel/backup care, but not anymore) made me feel like the ONLY place to be in the Hospital on IV antibiotics......... or else!

:mad:

I was hoping that your experiences would reassure me, and they did! (I also checked out the other thread on B strep... thanks!)
Barb

[temama]

You might want to check this article before make up your mind on antibiotics being used during your birth. I hope this helps.

[URL=http://www.mercola.com/2000/aug/13/group b strep.htm]

[sarahwebb]

I too have tested positive for GBS. My nurse practitioner prescribed 7 days of Amoxocilling and said if I didn't go into labor before restesting negative, I shouldn't worry about it. I started the Amoxocillin Monday and am about 37 weeks. The second culture results should come back Friday April 10. My EDD is April 21. (With further research, I'm not convinced that getting a negative culture result April 10 will insure that I am still negative at the time of delivery)

My midwife isn't concerned at all. She's recommended echinacaea extract 1 week on and 1 week off until I deliver as well as garlic supplement everyday to help boost my immune system. She also says that babies born at home are more likely to get the treatment they need, because they have 1 to 1 or greater attention and the mother, father or midwife will notice the symptoms and get the baby to treatment before the condition becomes serious. The only infant death she knew of from GBS in our area in the last two years was in a hospital nursery where the nurses weren't paying attention. She says that she will stay longer to help watch the baby since we know that I have had a positive culture.

My first cousin's doctor says that it's no big deal in full term babies. She says that she administers antibiotics during labor as a precaution for GBS positive women, but she doesn't think it's necessary because GBS is rarely life threatening for full term babies. Boy was Dh (who wasn't too hip on the whole homebirth thing to begin with) relieved to hear such reassurring information from a doctor...

My midwife recommended the following website. It's pretty deep and I'm still reading and digesting, but it has a wealth of information:
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/gbs.html

All the best,
Sarah

edited to spell my own name correctly...how's that for pregnancy brain?