GBS Positive... Anyone else?

schweitz

I just found out at my appointment last night that I tested positive for GBS and I was given a prescription for an antibiotic (to be put in an iv during labor). At first I wasn't so nervous, just kind of bummed to find out I was positive, but then I came across some scary stories and now I'm getting really nervous about it. Did anyone else test positive either in the past or now or have any experience with it? 

melzseb

I thought it wasn't that big a deal, just meant you needed an antibiotic before delivery. I wouldn't worry. 

schweitz

melzseb said:

I thought it wasn't that big a deal, just meant you needed an antibiotic before delivery. I wouldn't worry. 

That's what i thought but I read some forum on another site where women were saying that they didn't get put on the iv in time and had a quick labor so they weren't on the meds for the 4 hours and the baby had to go to the NICU and stuff... Just scares me a bit.

kyraaD

honestly i wouldn't worry too much, especially if you're a FTM. labour is very rarely less than 4hrs for a FTM. it is a little scary. no one wants their LO in the NICU, but this is something I really wouldn't stress about. 

schweitz

Do you think I'd still be able to do a water birth? I forgot to ask the midwife...

jnhuri

I have known I'm GBS positive my whole pregnancy. As a FTM, I was concerned but my OB assured me it's fairly common & nothing to worry about. Just as a heads up though, some pediatricians will want to monitor LO after birth for 48 hours just as a safety precaution to make sure baby got the antibiotic in its system. Try not to read too much into the scary stories, from my understanding, they are far and few between the good stories.

schweitz

jnhuri said:

I have known I'm GBS positive my whole pregnancy. As a FTM, I was concerned but my OB assured me it's fairly common & nothing to worry about. Just as a heads up though, some pediatricians will want to monitor LO after birth for 48 hours just as a safety precaution to make sure baby got the antibiotic in its system. Try not to read too much into the scary stories, from my understanding, they are far and few between the good stories.

Thank you for the reassurance.

nicole103109

I had it with my last pregnancy. Wasn't a big deal at all. Just had to have an iv for antibiotics going. At my hospital they told me I could still have a water birth ect they just don't allow for pain management with water births, but that is just my midwifery unit it could vary. Just check with your doctor's but I wouldn't worry about the pos gbs.  

kdrn913

If for some reason you don't get the antibiotic in in time, they will just monitor the baby extra close for 48 hours to make sure they don't develop an infection. If They do for some reason usually just need a few doses of iv antibiotics also. 

parenthood4

I've been GBS positive every time (this is my third). The goal is to have two rounds of antibiotics, four hours apart, through the IV. I have had relatively fast labors, and with both of my first two I haven't had time to get both rounds, just one. Both of my kids are fine!

Like pp said, if you don't have time to get both doses, they will want to keep you for a full 48 hours to watch the baby. But neither of my kids have had any issues at all. 

My doctors also told me that if your labor is so fast that you don't have time to get both doses, it means the baby is not hanging out in the birth canal being exposed to the bacteria for a log period of time, so there's probably not much to worry about. 

My advice is to just get to the hospital as soon as you think you're in labor, and don't google it anymore!! The chances are very very good that your baby will be totally fine. 

Cowboycorgi

schweitz said:

Do you think I'd still be able to do a water birth? I forgot to ask the midwife...

It does depend on your birth places policy, but it usually isn't a problem. 
They will cap your IV between antibiotic rounds during the 4 hours and allow you to labor in water between rounds. After all the antibiotic are given you are free to labor/deliver in water as long as no other pain meds are needed. 

Ive known I'm GBS + my whole pregnancy. I can't remember the exact statistic, but it's something like 97-98% of babies that are delivered after the 4 hours of antibiotics are absolutely fine and don't need any intervention. 
Its mainly a problem for women that can't get to the hospital in time (rare, especially for FTM) or women that treat GSB with holistic medicine like garlic cloves. Please do not shove garlic in your vagina! It's not going to help, and your midwife might run away after the discovery and be unable to help with the birth. 

vgirl33vb

I tested positive in my last pregnancy and for this one too. I was told I would get the medicine in my iv when I go into the hospital. 

RiverWhispering

I don't know how far along you are, but if you have enough time before your due date you could try to eliminate the GBS and ask to be retested. It is possible to get rid of the bacteria without antibiotics, but it takes a little while. Here is a good page to read (from a mom whose info and advice I've been *loving* this pregnancy): https://wellnessmama.com/8680/avoid-gbs/

Now, despite offering that article, I still agree with what Cowboycorgi said about the garlic-in-the-vagina "treatment." I understand there is a lot of success with that, but I wouldn't do it. I once naively tried dicing up garlic and using it as a skin treatment on a rash and ended up permanently scarring myself because I didn't know better. Garlic is serious stuff and must not be f'ed with. 

But everything else in that article is also recommended by my midwives, except for using the ACV as a rinse. My midwives *did* encourage me to drink a few tablespoons of ACV every day either before or after meals, because they said that from their experience 70% of the women they've worked with who have consumed ACV have tested negative for GBS.

So I'd recommend most of what is in that article, especially probiotics, probiotic rich fermented foods, garlic capsules in supplement form, and Apple Cider Vinegar. Even if it doesn't completely clear up the GBS, it could always put you into a better birth-canal-flora balance for when baby decends. Even if you still do the antibiotics. 

I've known ahead of time that I have a really good chance of testing positive for GBS because I've struggled with candida overgrowth symptoms in the past. So I've been doing a bunch of things in an attempt to clear myself. My GBS test is coming up on the 29th, so we'll see how successful my efforts were... 

Good luck to you!

schweitz

Thank you everyone so much for all the info. I'm already 37+5 so I'm pretty far in the pregnancy and don't think they do retesting at this stage. I'm just getting more nervous about complications the closer I get to my due date. I'm sick with a cold so my blood pressure has been randomly on the very low end and on the high end and I'm just constantly getting nervous that something could happen. We all just want what's best for our little ones.  

1drmom

What about membrane sweeps when GBS+? Some of my googling suggests not.

SarahFoley725

I just tested positive and my doctor said antibiotics in the IV during labor. No biggie! She did say that I would need to go in when my water broke/I started having regular enough contractions rather than laboring longer at home, so just make sure you don't wait around too long if you want to avoid the extra monitoring of baby. 

parenthood4

1drmom said:

What about membrane sweeps when GBS+? Some of my googling suggests not.

I was GBS+ and had my membranes swept for both previous pregnancies. I haven't done any research about not doing it, but I didn't have any issues either time. I can see the reasoning behind it, but my dr never said anything about not doing it 

moodelyn

i just tested positive for GBS, this is my 3rd baby, I tested positive for the other two also.  Not a big deal at all, you just need an IV antibiotic during delivery.  My doctor told me that it's very common to test positive...  Good luck and don't worry!