"Cheating" on the GBS test

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I've researched the test and simply feel that, for me, the pros of taking it outweigh the cons. I know status can change, but I also know mamas who have declined the test and had babies who developed infections--so, for me personally, although I understand declining, I would prefer to take it, particularly because I will not be giving birth in a hospital, so babe will not "monitored" by staff who are trained to notice signs of infection.

I will, however, likely refuse routine administration of antibiotics in labor, due to a long (around 9 months) fight with yeast while ttc and during the first half of my pregnancy. So I'd like to do what I can not just to "beat the system", but also to genuinely increase my odds of being GBS negative. Any natural remedies I use before the test I can keep up afterwards so that I stay negative.

courtenay: Do you have the book and/or remember any of the suggestions? I'm too strapped for cash right now to buy a book and don't know if I'll be able to find it in the library. Thanks!

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well, if this is your reason for doing the test, you really shouldnt try to cheat the results. you can do things like garlic suppositories, but it only wipes out the bacteria for a short period of time. like you said, GBS is transitory, but if you want to test because you want to know whether or not you are a carrier, then it doesnt really make sense to cheat the test, kwim??

i chose to be tested during my first pg (and will do the same with this one), because i knew i didnt want antibiotics in labor, but i also knew that in my town, OBs and peds FREAK out if you are gbs + and dont get treated, or if you dont know your gbs results. many peds in my town will actually refuse to see your baby. so i decided to do garlic vag suppositories for 3 days, and i did a vaginal test only. that way i had a documented negative result, so if i had to transfer to a hospital it wouldnt be an issue. next time i will probably just wave the swab in the air, lol. less work.

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Yes--this is my other major reason for testing (which I totally forgot about--pregnancy brain!). As a first-timer, I know I have a higher risk of hospital transfer than an experienced birther--not that I expect to transfer, of course. I would like to have a documented negative, because I know that if I decline the test, a hospital would treat me as positive and I already have SO much to fight against in the event of a transfer that I don't want to deal with this as well.

For the same reason, I took the (modified) GD test only after testing my blood sugar at home for several weeks; once I knew I would test negative, I took the test at my mws so that I was "documented" as negative in case of a transfer. Ah, the joys of covering your .

Unfortunately, the two reasons--really wanting to know and wanting to document a negative result--are kind of at odds with one another!

Please be carefull, GBS is not something to fool around with. My test came back neg. but my daughter got it at birth and spent 4 weeks in the NICU. 5 minutes after birth she was resusitated 3 times. I dont want to see another baby go through what mine did.

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Amanda- I have a copy checked out from the library right now, PM me so I don't forget to look it up for you if Courtenay doesn't have it.

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i dont want to belittle what you went through, but i want to point out that this type of gbs disease (early onset) usually means baby was infected in utero. antibiotics in labor would do little to prevent or treat it.

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I first learned of neonatal GBS infection in 1996 when my cousin's child almost died from it. That's before GBS testing was a standard prenatal test.

Despite the abundance of RNs and staff at the hospital, it was the mother and father of the newborn that noticed she was turning blue, a few hours old. The first RN did not believe this new parent worry, but when baby's dad was running down the hall to get someone, sure enough, it was determined that the newborn's blue color was a result of a raging GBS infection. Thankfully, the baby came through everything alright.

I just point out this experience because it was not any hospital staff that helped out my cousin. Her experience inspired me to request a GBS test w/ my first birth (which was a + result) and ironically, her experience helped me choose a homebirth the second time around...because I realized, there's no guarantee that birth location could "save" my baby.

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I certainly see the wisdom in wanting a documented GBS- result to avoid harassment at the hospital. But would a documented GBS- result permit the staff to be less vigalent about monitoring you and your newborn for signs of infection?

Would an unknown GBS result encourage the staff to avoid extra vaginal exams? With a documented GBS+ result, RNs/OBs are contradicted from unneccesary vaginal exams, to keep the threat of infection to a minimum.

Another way to "cheat" on a GBS test is to NOT have your rectum swabbed. Open any midwifery/OB text, and you'll read that to take the "best" sample, i.e., to take a swab that has the greatest likelihood of a + result, a woman's vagina/vulva and anus must be swabbed. Omitting the anus will ofen result in a GBS- result. Maybe you can request that type of GBS test.

Any vaginal exam will raise the risk of infection: that gloved hand may be sterile, BUT, it's pushing up vulva-area germs, and pushing them waaaay high to the cervix, AND of more concern, pushing them up into an opening cervix where a broken bag of waters will allow whatever to get inside there.

Worry is the work of pregnancy. There is no way someone else can make this decision for you...that's tough, in one sense.....and quite empowering, in another.

Good luck with your desiciion!

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Hey there cuz I have wondered if many of the hospital interventions contributed to the severity of my daughter's infection.

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From what I've heard, an unknown GBS status will often lead to the staff assuming you're positive and pushing the abx prophylactically. That's what I'd like to avoid. I didn't even think about the vag exams (we don't plan on any).

In some ways all of this is moot, because, if we transfer to the hospital, we assume it will most likely be for an emergency situation (though I recognize there are some other possibilities); and, if it is an emergency, much of what we "want" will no longer be an issue.

I did want to retract the flippant tone of my original post. I didn't mean to imply that I wanted to "cheat" on the test just for the sake of getting a negative and somehow pulling the wool over my mws eyes. My understanding was that the things one does to "pass" the test (garlic, probiotics, GSE, Hibiclens, etc.) actually DO reduce GBS colonization and so reduce your chances of having a GBS pos baby.

I'm not sure what, precisely, we're going to do, except for the following:
1) Because I'm O+ and papa is not, baby's blood will be tested for ABO incompatibility after birth (not via heel stick--they use a drop of cord blood); I will have them test for c-reactive protein as well.
2) Talk to my mws about having an alternate plan to the abx in place if I do test positive: I'm not sure which route I would go (abx or alternative), but I do think avoiding abx is a priority for me. I don't want to "fool around" with GBS, but I also know how badly my body reacts to abx, especially the "cillan" class of drugs.