Strep group B positive. Antibiotics during labor?

Widder

I was diagnosed (in my first trimester) as strep B positive. It was a blood test, that means it is actually in my blood stream. I'm now 22 weeks. They won't retest me since it is clear that I have it ( in many other cases the bacteria comes and goes and is only present in the urine not the blood). My doctor said I will receive antibiotics during labor and it sounded like I pretty much have no say in this. I'm allergic to penicillin and amoxicillin and pretty much all other "cillins", but I read that those are the only effective treatments. I'm concerned about the effect of antibiotics on my baby's immune system since it will kill off the good bacteria as well as the bad ones. The antibiotics will also be in my breast milk for quite some time after giving birth. Does anyone have any experience with this? And again, I'm not one of those cases where the bacteria might go away by eating yogurt and lots of probiotics. Any advice is appreciated!

jesicabrennan

It's really not a big deal. A lot of women are strep B positive and receive antibiotics during labor. They even do it if you're having a home birth. You CAN deny it if you want, you'd have to be persistent and sign some stuff but it is your right to refuse it. That being said I don't see any reason to refuse it, this is one of those benefits outweigh the negatives as strep b can be pretty detrimental to baby.

amichael89

The dangers of not getting an antibiotic can be serious for your baby. I have been on amoxicillin while pregnant and breastfeeding with no harm to the baby. Just talk with your ob about alternative medications and have them lay out all the dangers for and against it.

Ckorines

My friend had a false negative strep b test and ended up passing it on to her baby. When he was three weeks old he was admitted into the hospital with a super high fever. He stayed there for almost a month. They thought it was meningitis. She wishes she would have known beforehand about the bacteria and would have gladly taken the antiobiotics. Trust your doctors. It's not worth the risks

Sanine

I was on antibiotics almost a month straight before DS was born, also during labor, and for almost 3 months afterwards while I breastfed. DS is fine. Has no resistance to antibiotics.

If you're allergic, the Dr should find an alternative medication for you.

gatormom73

Iv been on macrobid this whole pregnancy just so I dont get another UTI. My doctors have said its more dangerous to get another infection, rather than take antibiotics. I wouldn't worry about it.

charliepepper

There are non-penicillin alternatives. Obviously, they would not give penicillin to someone who is allergic.

The risk to your baby if you aren't treated is death from sepsis. I think that makes the decision pretty clear.

aliciaspinnet

Lurking from June '15, but I just want to point out that sadly babies do die from Group B Strep infections. The good thing is that you know in advance and you can protect your baby with antibiotics. If you are penicillin allergic, then there are other options. Please listen to your doctors on this one.

shaley29

If you pass it on to your baby it can have respiratory issues, or most severe meningitis. There are other antibiotics you can take that are not penicillin based that are effective. They will give you antibiotics during labor but should also prior to as they need to be in your system 2 hours prior to giving birth (don't quote me on the time). My cousin actually had to wait to get her dosage before pushing as her office read her results wrong.

halo&wings

I can say without a doubt that group b is a very big deal. I have lived firsthand through a group b delivery and I have lived the worst case senario. While it can be prevented if treated correctly, it is definitely not something you want to play around with or even gamble with when deciding if you should or should not take antibiotics. There are many women who are allergic to all types of penicillin like antibiotics but there are other types of antibiotics that will work for women with allergies. The risk of group b is far worse than the risk of passing on antibiotics to your baby.

farahmina

I am allergic to penicillin and have been positive for strep b too :-( but I am due a c section so how does that affect baby? Do I need the antibiotics ?

ChristyM87

farahmina said:

I am allergic to penicillin and have been positive for strep b too :-( but I am due a c section so how does that affect baby? Do I need the antibiotics ?

Yes, anyone who is Group B Strep+ will need antibiotics. Mother's who don't get antibiotics risk having the bacteria pass onto the baby. Seeing how this is the leading cause of sepsis in infants, doctors take it seriously

If you are allergic to penicillin there are other antibiotics they can use instead. I know my midwife says that they use penicillin, vancomycin if you are allergic to penicillin. I don't know my group b strep status yet, but I will gladlytake the penicillin if necessary

kladd7182

farahmina said:

I am allergic to penicillin and have been positive for strep b too :-( but I am due a c section so how does that affect baby? Do I need the antibiotics ?

Yes, I tested positive twice and both kids were repeat c-sections. They do it to be on the safe side. My doctors did anyway

OP, obviously your doctor will find alternative antibiotics. They're not there to kill you or make you have allergic reaction. Talk to your doctor about what they will put through your IV in regards to the anti botics.

You did a lot of research as to having the anti biotics, now I suggest you research what can happen to a baby if they do lot give you an anti botic. It's much more scary than having an anti botic in your breast milk.

mrsjones1012

L&D RN here- at my facility we typically don't give antibiotics to scheduled c/s purely because they're GBS +; we give routinely give them pre-op anyway regardless. Some docs don't either bother to test for it if youre definitely a c/s. For labor, if gbs+ and allergic to penicillins, we typically give either clindamycon, kefzol, or occasionally vancomycin. And yes- you'll want to get the antibiotics. Risk/benefit ratios and all that. You do NOT want a septic baby. Though it's worth pointing out that te worst cases of septicemia in babies have occurred in moms who tested neg and developed it in the time from their swab to delivery- seen it happen. So- if already known pos, def abx for you.

audi681

So glad to see this post! I have had awful ear pain, neck pain and a sore throat, but I teach 5 year olds so I just chalk it up to being viral.
A mother came to my class today to tell me that she took her son to the dr last night, on my advice he wast feeling well in school yesterday, and he had strep. I freaked a little and got a throat culture on my lunch break. The drs. are doing a 3 day culture, but snap test was neg. I have a prescription for amoxicillin in case the 3 day comes back positive.
Was so worried about the possibility of taking antibiotics, and then I saw this thread... Phew.

ChristyM87

audi681 said:

So glad to see this post! I have had awful ear pain, neck pain and a sore throat, but I teach 5 year olds so I just chalk it up to being viral.
A mother came to my class today to tell me that she took her son to the dr last night, on my advice he wast feeling well in school yesterday, and he had strep. I freaked a little and got a throat culture on my lunch break. The drs. are doing a 3 day culture, but snap test was neg. I have a prescription for amoxicillin in case the 3 day comes back positive.
Was so worried about the possibility of taking antibiotics, and then I saw this thread... Phew.

Different type of strep. Strep in your throat is not the sort that we are referring to. We are talking about Group B Strep in your vagina. However, if you do have strep throat you should take antibiotics

audi681

Oh yes, I know! I am commenting on my worries (all day) about taking antibiotics. I am glad to have read that many of you have taken them during pregnancy.

Savanna111911

I hadn't heard of this before. Is this something that is standard and the OB will automatically test for as we get closer to due date?

Ckorines

@Savanna111911 yes it's standard procedure. The swipe you down there and test it. If it's positive, you get antibiotics during labor and everything will be fine. My friend was positive for strep b and her baby was admitted to the hospital at 2 weeks old and was there for a month. She never was given antibiotics. He was so sick. Apparently there is no harm to mom, but you can pass it to baby and that's where the danger lies.

sarahsairsair

Yup I think the swab is done at 30-something weeks if I remember right, doesn't hurt at all and determines is you have group b strep