Avoiding GBS

[diamond lil]

My Bradley teacher just sent us the following e-mail on avoiding Group B Strep. I just copied and pasted it here. I will visit my local health food store over the weekend to stock up. Please comment if any of you have had luck avoiding GBS with any of these combinations.

* Acidophilus (15 billion live cultures) 2x daily or (4 billion every 4 hours)
* Echinacea (450 mg) 4x daily
* Propolis (1000 mg) 4x daily
* Vitamin C (1000 mg) 2x daily or (500 mg every 4 hours)
* 1-2 drops of grapefruit seed extract in juice or drink

Just pick your favorite three- or do them all if you really want to be sure- they are all natural, immunity-boosting supplements and can no do any harm.

[greenmom4]

How far ahead of the test do you need to start these to "pass"?

[diamond lil]

How far ahead of the test do you need to start these to "pass"?

I'm not 100% sure, but I know they start testing for it later in the third trimester. I am 28 weeks, so I am going to start taking the supplements now until the end. Hope that helps. Maybe someone more experienced can chime in? :o

[greenmom4]

Oh good - I'm almost 29 weeks and just wanted to be sure that was enough time for it to take effect. Thanks for the info! :D

[mommathea]

one thing tht I have heard is that you also need to be taking raw garlic.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

My midwife does not test for GBS....i'll skip the whole worry about it. However those are some great supplements for all pregnant mama's to take.

[swissmiss2584]

I heard that 2-4 weeks of treatments before testing is good. Most test around 34-36 weeks.

The garlic is a good idea. Fresh garlic is best. It has antibacterial properties. You can crush it and swallow it or crush it and insert it directly into the vagina. If you google "how to use garlic for GBS" you will find articles from midwives on how to use it.

Also yogurt or kefir put inside the vagina is good too.

[Jill0905]

Thanks for sharing!

[thefragile7393]

On the acidolphilis....is it pill or liquid form? And what kind of Vitamin C?

[XanaduMama]

These are all good approaches and you should def do them as long as you can. If you really want to test negative, though (and trust me, you do), you probably need to take more serious action. I did the hibiclens wash and tested negative (I was + with my first pregnancy and it made things way more complicated than I wanted). I'd recommend that to anyone who thinks they might be + or who really needs to be negative (bc of an intervention-happy OB etc).

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/gbs.html#Lavage

[thefragile7393]

HOW do you do the wash XanaduMama...and where can you get the solution? How often do you do it, starting when? I fear GBS again, not because of what happened (uh, nothing....and not to say it can't be seroius but, like GD, I think it's over-diagnosed) but I fear stupid interventions too.