Group B Strep - your options

I was just reading a thread about GBS and please excuse me if it's been discussed more recently as I haven't visited the site for a while, but I didn't see this information anywhere and hoped it might be helpful...

When I was pregnant with T, I didn't want to do the GBS test (I hadn't done it with S either) for many reasons, and instead of just the temp monitoring after birth, my birth centre offered an alternative: get a gastric aspirate (sp?) and ear swap from the baby immediately after the birth, which would be then sent to the lab to test for GBS. Temp monitoring was still done as usual in the hours following the birth, but no antibiotics are taken unless the lab results confirm GBS. (This takes 24 hours).

I took this option, and it worked well. T had to wait about 1 minute longer for her first feed (the gastric aspirate must be done before feeding) but I didn't think that was too great an inconvenience; she was feeding straight afterwards, while the ear swab was being done.

This was at King Edward Birth Centre,(a public hospital), and I just thought it might be something women can ask for, instead of just having the antibiotic option.

Hope it helps!

I have tested positive for the second tme, and know my hosipital will give me no option re the antibiotics. But I'm fine with that.

My only concern is that last time even though i had the antibiotics I would have liked the test to be completed also, as my labour was too short for an entire course of antibiotics to be truley effective.

But most of all I would really like to know if there is a way i can prevent testing positive if I do have another bub.

I found out yesterday that I tested positive for strep B but my ob just said to remind him and tell the hosp when my waters break so that they all remember to give me the antibiotics. I have been reading some other threads on here and i'm worried about the effect it will have on my baby.

My Ob didn't seem to think it was a big deal, and as long as i have antibiotics bubs will be fine. Is this the case?

Mrs Hendo,

I've started reading about GBS and I would recommend you do some more reading before saying yes to the antibiotics. The antibiotics are supposed to work in that they help prevent the baby from getting sick from an infection (which they might contract during the birth if you are GBS positive) but giving a newborn a dose of antibiotics is a pretty big thing, and not something I would do lightly. The antibiotics can destroy the good bacteria (as well as the bad) that's in the baby's gut, which can cause problems later.

I have been reading Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, which is a good resource, but I'm sure you can also google GBS and find some good stuff as well. If I test positive to GBS (I'm not sure I'll test yet) then I'll be looking at alternatives to the antibiotics at the birth.

The other thing is...GBS is usually present in a woman's vagina in cycles (ie. it comes and goes). They usually don't test for GBS until you're about 37 weeks. If you've tested positive to GBS now (when you're still only 31-odd weeks), there's a good chance you won't be GBS positive by the time of the birth. So...you might want to think a bit more about accepting the antibiotics based on a test that was done so far away from the birth.

Good luck - I'm off to read more about GBS and will let you know how I go!

I tested positive for GBS, and basically, the hospital procedure was for me to go in when my waters broke so that I could have the antibiotics - the idea is if teh mum has been given enough antibiotics (you have to have 2 doses four hours apart) then the bub doesn't need them. DS had a blood test at birth, although I'm not sure if this was normal procedure or because he ended up in neonates anyway, and once the results were through for that, because he tested positive to a marker, then he had to have precautionary antibiotics himself, whislt they did a full blood culture to see if he did have a fullblown infection or not, ehich can take 3-5days to grow. He also had another blood test the next day in the meantime and because that came back clear, he was taken off the antibiotics.

I;m not sure whether if he hadn't needed to be in neonates anyway, whether he would have needed the antibiotics himself or not because I got about 6 doses into me (my waters broke 24hours before my labour started so plenty of time for the antibiotics to get through me)