Can anyone give me more info on this.I have been told that we have to have the swab and ive also been told that its optional
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Can anyone give me more info on this.I have been told that we have to have the swab and ive also been told that its optional
The swab is to check for infection. It is a reference at a "point in time".
If you are positive for GBS, then you're put on antibiotics. If you're negative, it doesn't mean you'll be negative later.
If your waters break and labour isn't quick, they'll check for GBS again and put you on more antibiotics. So basically, if you test positive, then treated, it's not assumed you're negative later. If anything happens that may impact bub, they'll test anyhows and it will be more accurate as to the impact for bubs. (FWIW, my midwife at the FBC mentioned all this and she doesn't seem to think it achieves anything done too early)
good luck.
All tests are optional. However most hospitals in Australia recommend having a GBS swab, despite the infection being transient so a +ive result does not mean you will be +ive in labour. Ditto a -ive result is no guarantee your child will not be affected.
:yeahthat: They can't make you do anything you don't want to do. Unfortunately I think many health care providers use language that suggests that it's not optional.:
I know the infection is transient and ditto what Traveller said, but I *think* the risks to baby if you are GBS positive, whilst low, can be quite deadly. I might be confused on this though - I'm sure there's heaps of accurate information available if you research it.
As said, it's optional, as are all tests/procedures (though they may not be presented to you that way).
I'm not a fan of the way it's handled here - a lot of women and babies are exposed to unnecessary antibiotics and some will not get them when they need them. I *think* if you are postitive at the time of birth then there's a 50% chance you'll pass it along and of those babies a small number (1-2% ??) will be very ill. There are risk factors that greatly increase the likelihood of GBS affecting your baby - primarily trauma during birth.
I didn't have it, and when I asked my OB about it he wasn't a fan, simply because it doesn't reflect how you'll be when you go into labor. He offered me the opportunity to have it if I wanted, but said it wasn't necessary, so I didn't have it. However, I had a hind water leak at 40 weeks and was given 4 days to go into labor naturally before being induced. I was put on antibiotics as a precaution and no GBS swab was taken. However, I think if your waters have broken, bubs is susceptible to other types of infection other than GBS, so they give you the AB's anyway.
An important thing to remember. It is always up to you which of the tests or treatments you take up.:
thank you ladies. Thats what i thought. Also with this swab are we able to do the swab ourselves? Im may be more inclined to do it myself if the doc insists DH and i have decided it to be a no. Only checking as the mw i spoke to did say you could do your own.
I did mine myself, the gave me the swab and container and said to do it the morning of my next visit. Definitely preferred to do it myself!
I had the test with both of mine, and swabbed myself each time. Just gave me the swab and told me to go to the ladies to do it.
I've refused it before and will do again. The birth centre has an alternative in place (mostly to keep the hospital happy) if you choose not to do the swab pre-birth. When T was born, before she had her first feed, they took an ear and gastric swab to test - this way, far better chance of knowing if baby has it rather than the chance that you might pass it on (assuming you are positive when you give birth in the first place). I decided against the test because I thought the pressure of having to deliver within a timeframe would stress me out, plus I believe in saving antibiotics for when they're absolutely necessary. As it turns out, my waters broke very late in labour with both, so it wouldn't have been an issue anyway.
Might be worth asking if they will swab the baby at birth if you decide not to do the test?
Where do you live? I have never even had it mentioned to me.
Heaven im in WA
sasha thanks hun i think i will def ask that at my next appt
Sasha, that sounds like a far more sensible way of doing it!
You are quite correct, GBS can be very dangerous for a baby and can cause life threatening sepsis. If you or the baby test positive for GBS around birth but are asymptomatic the effects of antibiotics on a fragile gut must be weighed against the small chance of the child developing sepsis.:
It's a decision that only you can make, I'm not sure what I would do in your situation having had a child with sepsis (albeit from an entirely different infection).
i did it with DS and i did it with this one
both times i have been sent to the bathroom to do it myself
i think its gross doing it but i just do it anyway, but it is optional
All tests are optional.
I did not have it (test) with DS2 I agreed that if I went in to labour before 37 weeks I'd have ab's or if my water broke early and things dragged on I'd have ab's but I was pretty sure they would either not break at all as with ds1 or very close to birth which is what happened there was under 5 mins gap
I have never had it, or even had it mentioned to me either time. I honestly didn't anything about it before I joined BB.
DS came too early for us to do the swab, so they gave me AB's during birth. I wasn't fussed at that stage.
Sadly, being part of the babyloss community, I now know far too much about possible dangers, including that fact that GBS can kill babies (they're a small part of perinatal death statistics). I like Sasha's idea of testing baby when they're born, as is seems like it would be more accurate. I don't know how fast GBS becomes dagerous though, so I'd talk to a doctor/mw about it. I don't like the idea of baby being affected by AB's so early unless absolutely necessary. It can cause other problems down the track with digestion/feeding etc.
An ear swab and gastric aspirate will show if a baby has been exposed to a certain bacteria and (where I worked at least) was not routine unless the were any risk factors or bubs had to be admitted to the NICU/SCN where it was part of a routine infection screen. The swabs only show what could be the potential cause of infection. Even if a baby had these done after birth (they have to be done soon after birth and definately before the first feed in the case of the gastric aspirate), and they show signs of infection they will strongly recommend a full blood workup looking for bacteria in the blood and other biochemical signs of infection and possibly antibiotics as well. The swabs will also take up to 48 hours to grow anything and if bub has an infection from birth it will have shown itself before then. The reason they like to do the vaginal swabs is because GBS is a highly dangerous bacteria for babies, it causes babies to become critically ill very very quickly.. We are very lucky that GBS is one of the only bacteria that is still highly sensitive to penicillin.
Instead of having bub swabbed you can just keep a close watch for signs of sepsis in the first 48 - 72 hours. Things like unstable temperature (newborns are more likely to drop thier body temperature when they are sick but they can swing between high and low temps), lethargy, poor feeding etc