[angela&avery]

I am 36 weeks and just found out my test came back positive for strep B..... i do not vaccinate my kids, my son and the new baby did and will not recieve the vitamin K and eye stuff, nor was my son circumcised... but i dont know a lot about the statistics for strep B....I will research it, but thought i would ask here too..

 

[mrzmeg]

I tested positive for Strep B around that time also, and did not have antibiotics at birth (mostly because it probably would have meant me being hooked up to an IV the entire labor).
On the advice of my midwife, I began taking garlic caplets (the max doses recommended on the bottle of Kyolic) and cooking heavily with garlic. She said that Strep B changes quickly anyway, and that with the garlic, the infection would probably be beaten before birth. Well, I got retested the week I was due, and the infection was gone.
I'd say get some garlic and don't worry! If your HCP gives you crap, just tell him/her that you want to retest closer to your due date.

 

[angela&avery]

luckily i have a midwife, and they already told me i could refuse the antibiotic, i just want to do the right thing... i dont to put my baby at risk...

 

[mrzmeg]

Here are a couple of threads with a lot of information:
Strep B and Labor Plans
Group B Strep

 

[Waterdrinker]

I found out post partum that I was GBS + with dd 2 yrs. ago. Was told it was "low grade." They tested the babe (took 2 stabs to get enought blood - made me cry). She was fine!!!

Now with babe #2 due in Dec. I've been doing my research and semi-fretting about refusing the antibiotic. Then it FINALLY hit me - I had GBS and a PERFECTLY healthy babe. Duh!

But to CMA I consulted with my homeopath about what I can do. He was kind enough to steer me toward some ideas inlieu of homeopathic remedies - I have to drive 2 hrs. to get to him.

He suggested: Primal Defense Probiotic and cats claw from Amazon Herb Company in Jupiter, FL. He feels they are best. Been taking them and will use tea tree oil suppositories the week before the test.

I have learned that a positive or negative test does not mean that at birth you will still be positive or negative. I feel confident about my decision, especially since I already had a GBS birth. Good luck!

 

[angela&avery]

thank you all so much for your replies. I talked to my midwife and she agreed to retest in a week and wants me to do the teatree oil thing, i am also consulting with a homeopathic nutritionist on what else i should do... we talked about possibly just watching my labor close and testing the baby after it's born ..... still not exactly sure what we are going to do... sounds like i have some options though which is encouraging...

 

[Evergreen]

Yes, try to get rid of it yourself. I was never able to, and ended up refusing the antibiotics, but a friend who used the same midwife had them and said it was no big deal. She just had a quick IV before pushing.

I probably wouldn't refuse next time, though. I know the odds of something happening but a midwife friend of mine delivered a baby with Beta Strep infection recently and the baby did not make it. THe odds of this happening are sooo low, but it really scares you when something like this hits so close to home.

 

[Ixcuina]

From what I have learned the IV antibiotics need to be given 4 hours before birth (so that they have enough time to become effective). Giving them right before a mom starts pushing is (in most cases) too late. The amount needed only takes about 15 minutes to drip through so one should not need to be hooked up to an IV throughout the entire labor.

It is a hard decision to make. Though the risk of death to an infant is very rare, it does happen. I, personally, plan on taking a preventative approach before the testing so that hopefully it will be negative and not an issue for us.

 

[Drewsmom]

I'm almost 36 weeks and i tested positive at 31 in a UTI. i'll still have them culture next week to see if I test positive again but if I do my midwife said that they could put in a lock (not hook me up to an IV) and give me one dose of antibiotics them unhook it for the rest of the time. That quelched my fears and leaves me free to labor as I want unfettered. My friend had a friend whose baby died of GBS that went undetected for some reason. The benefit of having a dose vs. the risk and worry I'd go through after the baby was born looking for signs isn't worth it to me, as much as I wanted to go without even a saline-lock. Good luck with your decision.

 

[jenoline]

Dr Jay Gordon's has some links to GBS info on his website.
http://www.drjaygordon.com/links/homebirth.htm

One thing I read was that more and more research is suggesting that antibiotics are only effective if the mother shows risk factors during labor (a fever during labor, waters broken for longer than 18 hours before delivery, and premature rupture of membranes). A midwife I spoke to also recommended taking Ecchinachia (spelling??) prior to delivery, as a preventative.

Good luck with your decision. I was not as well informed with my last baby, and had the antibiotics during labor. My baby and I both ended up with a yeast infection within days of the birth, that I completely attribute to the antibiotics

:

Jennifer

 

[MommyChani]

I'm also against medication etc, however I think you should know that a close friend of mine was not tested during pregnancy for strep-b and her newborn daughter ended up having meningitis, thank G-d she realized something was wrong while still in the hospital and they caught it in time and she's healthy and growing now. But you got to be so careful!

I tested positive with my first pregnancy and had an iv for the first 20 minutes of labor, after which my midwife and doula made sure I was free to go around and do whatever I liked. Depending on how long labor lasts, you may have to have another iv (I think every 4./5 hours).

Hope all goes well for you!

 

[sully]

I tested positive and planned on having the antibiotics after much consideration, the bottom line for me was my midwife telling me that she has personally seen more than one baby die from group B strep. But when it came time, I arrived at the hospital 10 cm and the nurse had a hard time putting the IV in, so my midwife told her to skip it since there wasn't enough time anyway. I had my daughter about 30 minutes later! She was fine, they did do blood tests on her and she didn't even cry, and then watched us for the next day.