GBS

Dons12345

I have been told that I will need antibiotics when in Labour because I have tested positive for GBS. I have Google what this means and I am really worried now. Has anyone else been tested for it?

newbabymakes4

I had GBS with DS and it's really no big deal.  They will give you penicillin or something in an IV during labor.

imrachellea

Group b strep is NBD in almost all cases. It lives in the digestive tract, birth canal, and anus, and for grown adults like us is almost always asymptomatic. It can come and go on it's own, and 1/3 of pregnant women test positive for it. All it means is you get antibiotics during delivery (so you will want to make sure you are at the hospital with enough time for that). I tested positive just based on urine at 7 and 12 weeks, so I was marked a carrier and did not need to have the swab done at my last appt. I'm due in 2 weeks, will have the antibiotic, and that's that. No additional story to tell and baby will be just fine. And just because you have it once does not mean you will again, I was negative for my daughter 2+ years ago. Good luck!

wildtot

I tested positive during a UTI during second tri. Won't be doing the swab either just getting antibiotics at delivery.

jonesl12

It's not a big deal.
stop googling 
you will take antibiotics during L&D.
its super common

tdart14

Everybody I tested for it. It is common and not a big deal. Time to call down, you will get antibiotics during labor and perhaps some extra monitoring for the baby. If you actually hav , the research you would see the risk after antibiotic isn't something you really need to concern yourself with. 

taysun

I tested positive and it really no big deal. I received antibiotics during labor every 8 hours. It went up to like every 4 or something once my water was broken. I'm allergic to penicillin so I was given an alternative to penicillin. 
My doctor said that basically everyone has it but you test positive when the colonies of it are bigger. So you can test positive at one point and then be negative again in a few months. 

allisshiney

I tested positive with my 1st. My water broke and I didn't go into labour for about 24 hours. My son was born via emerg csection. He had a bad infection due to the gbs and had to be on cpap and then antibiotics. He stayed in hospital for a week. It's not necessarily a big deal until it is. I also know another baby who was hospitalized for over a month after birth due too gbs complications.

goldie987

It isn't a big deal as long as you get the antibiotics.  With antibiotics during labor, the chance of transmission drops to 0.025% or less so as long as you get those, the chance of anything happening is very slim.  They'll also likely monitor your baby a little closer after birth to make sure they are okay. 

FWIW, my mom was a GBS carrier and didn't know it.  I contracted GBS from her at birth and it wasn't picked up for nearly 2 days, at which point I was almost septic.  10 days in the special care nursery on broad spectrum IV antibiotics and I was good to go.  Had they known she was a carrier, they could have caught it and nipped it in the bud before it got out of hand.  

Moral of the story, you know so now proper measures can be taken to prevent transmission and, if those fail, keep your baby from getting sick. 

hollywoodave531

@Sgoldberg247 now that routine screenings are recommended by the CDC and acog you are absolutely right that the transmission is lower. The problem is, traditional culture methods of detection can still miss positives. It's not surprising that someone would test positive once and then negative the next time, because we are hoping the bug will grow on a plate and it doesn't always do that. In addition, the person reading the plate might miss the positive. Typically a person is treated the next time. I'm a huge advocate for better detection which can be even improved further. GBS complications can be even more severe than what you mentioned. I think every woman should know what types of methods their hospital is using to detect gbs. 

goldie987

hollywoodave531 said:

@Sgoldberg247 now that routine screenings are recommended by the CDC and acog you are absolutely right that the transmission is lower. The problem is, traditional culture methods of detection can still miss positives. It's not surprising that someone would test positive once and then negative the next time, because we are hoping the bug will grow on a plate and it doesn't always do that. In addition, the person reading the plate might miss the positive. Typically a person is treated the next time. I'm a huge advocate for better detection which can be even improved further. GBS complications can be even more severe than what you mentioned. I think every woman should know what types of methods their hospital is using to detect gbs. 

Oh, 100% agreed that just because you test negative doesn't mean you're actually negative but since the question wasn't about negative tests I figured I wouldn't go into that too much.  

I was fortunate that my GBS was caught early due to a highly elevated WBC count on a blood test being done to assess how I was dealing with minor jaundice (or so my mom says).  Had it not been for that, it likely wouldn't have been caught until I had gotten home and the outcome would have been much worse.  I had an LP at 2 days old (it was clean) and my mom was basically told to prep for me to not make it because of how close to septic I was.  My pediatrician said it was amazing to see me at my 1 year check up given how bad it had looked for awhile.  The point I was trying to make was even with not catching it right away and it being able to get a hold, its still highly treatable.  If you know going in that you're GBS positive, the chance that you'll have a situation like me as a baby is so slim because action is taken to prevent transmission and many hospitals also moniter the babies a bit closer for signs of infection just in case.

purplefan1

It is definitely something you want to catch and be prepared to have monitored during L&D to keep baby safe. Otherwise it isn't a huge deal. One of my friends said she hated the diagnosis because for some reason it made her feel dirty, almost like being told she had an STI. But in reality so many people test positive and you really want to keep baby safe. My nephew was born exposed and had to have a spinal tap done in his first 24 hours of life and stay in the NICU for a bit. Glad your doctor caught it and will keep you and baby healthy!