[carrietorgc]

I seem to remember reading in a thread around here that taking probiotics helps prepare you for the gbs swab? i'm still on the fence about it - i told my mw that I would use natural methods vs the antibiotics if I was + and she wasn't familiar with other remedies - and said that it might just be easier for me to wave the test.

but i do want to know if gbs is one of those minute things i would need to be cognizant of after ds is born.....

 

[asianmama]

My mw told me that I could take acidophilus to try and reduce the likelihood that I would test positive. I have also read that some women use garlic cloves as vaginal suppositories for treatment if they test positive. I'm not sure how effective garlic is as treatment, but if you typed in "garlic and gbs" or "garlic and streptococcus b" in an internet search engine, something about that would probably come up.

I chose not to do the gbs swab because, from the information my midwives gave me, this is what I understand:

1) The likelihood of baby developing a group b strep infection is very low (but I don't remember the exact statistics). It's also my understanding that even if you are colonized during time of delivery, that doesn't mean the baby will necessarily develop an infection.

2) Whatever the test results say does not determine what your gbs status will be at the time of delivery. I was told that if I tested positive, I could be negative by the time I deliver; and if I tested negative, I could be positive by the time I deliver.

3) Antibiotics are not 100% effective in preventing an infection (although I know you didn't want to go the antibiotic route).

However, even though I've decided not to do the test, that doesn't mean I don't stress out about it! I still worry sometimes. But I feel like it's the best decision for me. I'm currently just relying on taking a daily probiotic mixture that contains acidophilus.

Good luck!

 

[greenmansions]

My sister was pos for GBS, and at that time she lived in and had my niece in Germany. They do not give antibiotics there, and my niece ended up in the NICU for 9 days with a high fever due to the strep. They were not sure she would make it. She is fine now, but NO WAY I'd mess with it...

 

[AugustLia23]

I am still debating whether or not to test. I am planning a homebirth with a CPM, so even if I tested positive, the only thing I could do is take antibiotics within 10 days of my delivery. Now I do know my due date, butI do not know when I will deliver, so the antibiotics could easily be taken too early or too late. So I will probably just boost up on probiotics and garlic supplements and not worry about it.

 

[shockels]

I'm definitely going to test just because I like all the info I can get!!

I wanted to put out there something my midwife told me...that a lot of practictioners just do one swab/swipe so when you get the results you have no idea where the colonization is. My midwife does two swipes: one vaginal and one anal. If you're colonized in your rectum (where a lot of people are) then that's something less to worry about. Also, there's a difference from being colonized and infected. Infected is a much higher bacterial count, and likewise with colonization, there are differeing degrees. So if your test comes back positive, it would be worth it, IMO, to know if you're heavily colonized (higher risk of passing it on to baby) or lightly colonized.

lots of luck with making your decision!
Sandra

 

[nabigus]

Sandra, long time no see! Hope all's going splendidly.

We're using a birth center attached to a hospital, and one of the disadvantages is their extremely inflexible GBS policy--if I test positive (vaginal or anal), I can't retest later; if I refuse antibiotics they do all kinds of supervision of the baby after birth, etc. So since I have to take the &@*$%# thing (and since I have a morbid fear of needles and of IVs in particular), I've started doing a little reading. Check these out:

Mothering thread on GBS
GentleBirth on GBS
Reprint of 2003 Mothering article on GBS
GentleBirth on Hibaclens lavage

 

[carrietorgc]

Thanks for the links! I'm bringing them in to the midwives......they deliver at the birthing inn attached to a hospital, but seem somewhat flexible - in that I can refuse the gbs test if I want, refusing the antibiotics might be somewhat more challenging, and I need to clearly ask them about retesting....

 

[camprunner]

Just wanted to say that I just found out that I tested postive with my almost three year old dd. I had no clue until i requested my files from my old nurse midwives to take to my homebirth midwives. I was not hooked up to an IV at the hospital, dd was not kept longer for observation and everything was fine. I'm glad I didn't know or I would have been worried and if they'd made me do the IV thing I wouldn't have had the perfect hospital birth (yes it is possible) that I had.

 

[Shanana]

About 2 weeks before my test, my monitrice checked my urine and it indicated the likelihood of both a yeast and bacterial infection (could have been a UTI, maybe GBS, maybe ???). So she suggested probiotics, along with propolis, which is made my bees -- along the lines of honey, royal jelly, etc. (I found it at Whole Foods in capsule form, and don't think you should take it if you're allergic to bee stings). She said it has antibacterial and antifungal properties. I started the propolis and probiotics then (2 weeks before the test), and I don't know if it made a difference, but I tested negative!

Shana
EDD 7/29/05