Group B testing

rn1stbae

Does anyone plan on being really proactive and taking probiotics and stuff before testing?  I'm considering starting oral probiotics at 30 weeks and adding in oral garlic and other fermented foods....but some of the other stuff **vaginal garlic???** Im thinking I want to avoid unless I test positive and am able to test again and want to really try and eradicate it.  At that point I might just opt for the IV antibiotics but I wanted to stay at home as long as possible and my practice is pretty proactive about letting laboring moms ambulate, eat, drink, etc...I just want to maximize what little freedom I might have!  What are ya'lls thoughts/experiences?

mrsvoorhees-2

I was wondering about this the other day, when do they test for it? My friend that is 16 weeks was told by our OB (we go to the same one) that she was positive. I know they did a pelvic
exam at my first appointment and an outer swab to test for stds and stuff but it seems that would be early to test. Do they test again later?

yellowrose314

They tested me fairly early, but apparently that was a screw up. This is because this type of bacteria can come and go, even in the span of a 9 month pregnancy. Anecdotally, my SIL got tested at 16 weeks and came back positive, and again at 36 weeks and it was gone. They swabbed her again 2 days before her due date, just to check, and it was still gone, so no IV antibiotics for her. My midwife wants me to get swabbed again at 36 weeks, even though my first swab was negative; 35-37 weeks is the official standard as recommended by the CDC.
Personally, if I find out I'm positive at 36 weeks I'm going to start taking probiotics, mainly because I myself notice a lot of intestinal issues when I'm on any sort of wide spectrum antibiotics. I also really don't feel like going home with C diff, which let me tell you is AWFUL (had it once before), and while there's no significant evidence saying that taking probiotics while being treated with IV antibiotics helps stave off C Diff, I found it definitely helped my recovery from it the last time I had IV antibiotics. However, my biggest fear is having to take the antibiotics at all, because almost everyone in my family is allergic to penicillin, and the 1st line antibiotic for strep B is Penicillin G. 

Kimmy717

My doctor told me they will take my swabs at my next appointment, july 7, i will be 32 weeks. i have been taking probiotics (good ones, over 30million, not that "align" crap) for over a year now and that is all i am really going to do. No use in really worrying over it IMO.

AshleyB09042015

I had mine done while in the hospital the week before last. I was 28 weeks. They did it because I went into labor (which they stopped) It came back negative a few days later but it is apparently only good for 6 weeks. So if I don't have my LO by 34 weeks I will have to get swabbed again.

Thscary

Omg I would never do anything involving garlic and my vagina. Garlic burns very badly.  I can't believe vaginal garlic is something 

rn1stbae

Yah! It IS something! Apparently people use it for yeast infections too! Yikes! But whatever works....  I think I'll stick to oral stuff for now.  I can just imagine if my husband found out I was stuffing garlic cloves up my woohaa. 

yellowrose314

If my husband found out I was shoving garlic up my vajayjay, that would be the end of the deep southern valley buffet. Forever. So that can't happen. Next you'll be telling me to cure it with colloidal silver. Crazy crunchy people.

Flowr4246

They usually test around 38w.  I've never heard of taking anything to try to prevent it.  From what I understand, the bacteria fluctuates and can come and go at any time, which is why they test late.  I was + with my daughter and it just meant a round of ABX for me during labor in my IV.  NBD.  I was - with my son.

camichael84

I'm fairly certain they tested me at 36 weeks for my daughter. I was positive, but it wasn't a big deal to me. I could see how if you are planning a home birth this could be an issue, but (for me) it just meant one round of antibiotics during labor.

@yellowrose314 I'm also allergic to penicillin. They used another antibiotic on me (not sure which one), and all went well. My only complaint with the one I got was that it took 2 hours to run through the IV (meaning 2 hrs stuck in bed). The nurse told me there were alternatives to that one that ran more like penicillin (30 minutes), but it wasn't what the OB oncall had ordered. This is something I'm going to talk more in depth with my OB about (if I'm positive again), and make sure she writes it in my chart.

Flowr4246

@camichael84 - Even if you are positive again, the longer run ABX shouldn't mean you're stuck in bed.  Ask if you can do temporary monitoring of the baby (usually they require 20 minutes ever hour on the monitors) and then ask for an IV pole on wheels the rest of the time.  You can push it around your room or walk the halls while the ABX flows and you won't be stuck.

OBMommy

First line treatment is penicillin but second line is usually ancef. They repeat the antibiotics every 4 hours or the ancef every 6 hours while in labor. I haven't heard any research that says the probiotics help but I'm considering taking them just in case. Moms who test positive at our facility usually stay 48 hours instead of 24 so we can monitor the baby for symptoms. 

camichael84

@Flowr4246 To clarify, I wanted to get into the tub, and they said no until it was done. I didn't even ask to walk around because moving made my contractions worse. But still good to know that is an option! 

Bibliobebe

For everyone feeling not-so-hot about garlic in the lady bits but still wants something homeopathic.... try a tampon dipped in probiotic yogurt and frozen in the freezer.

Yes, this is a thing. No, I haven't tried it. Makes sense though and seems less yucky than garlic. Kind of.

nativetexan512

I started making and drinking milk kefir a month ago. Partially because I wanted the probiotics/digestive help, partially because I read/heard somewhere that it would help with Group B strep.

My friends think I am pretty crunchy - wait till they hear about vag garlic and tampons dipped in yogurt!! :)

rn1stbae

Yeah....they also suggest rubbing garlic all over a tampon and putting it in.  Just not so sure about all of that...

yellowrose314

A yogurt tampon? For serious? I'm thinking that since you shouldn't be using tampons at all during pregnancy or PP (HUGE chance of infection), probably not a good idea to be sticking one soaked in yogurt up in there... it's already a warm, moist environment, but add some yogurt to the mix, which is already chock full of bacteria, I'm thinking it's going to be an all you can eat buffet for the nasties. Just sayin'.
Edited because it's Monday. 

ivassaq

I've been taking florajen 3 a high potency probiotic that also encourages "healthy vaginal flora" lol. My midwife recommended it.  https://www.florajen.com/products-florajen3.shtml

ruemcclanahan

@yellowrose314 actually yogurts dipped tampons are a home remedy for yeast infections! 
Obviously you have to use plain but the bacteria is good bacteria and it helps to balance your vajayjay

yellowrose314

Then maybe just stick some yogurt up there? I just think the tampon should be a general no go during pregnancy/PP. 

Kimmy717

...for what its worth, if anyone is interested, i happened to do quite a bit of research on the whole "yogurt" tampon thing last year when i was having YI/BV constantly and couldnt figure out the reason. (since then i have gotten that handled, diabetes is a bitch and affects a lot more then one person. since my SO has gotten that controlled it has not happened) Everything i read, and it was a lot, of people trying that yogurt tampon thing said it didnt really help them and all it caused was a mess. All the homepathic remedies i looked up had just about the same results, no help, was a mess, and/or made their situation worse. My biggest recommendation is not inserting anything in your vajayjay that is not supposed to be in there in the first place. Most things i read said the best recommendations for healthy vajayjay are to NOT douche, take a decent probiotic (there are tons on the market, if youre considering taking one you might do a little research to make sure you arent wasting your money on a placebo, 30 billion cfu plus is recommended, this is my favorite: Healthy Origins Probiotic 30 Billion CFU's Shelf Stable, wash the interior of your vajayjay with just warm water, no soaps they get your PH out of balance even if they claim to be "PH friendly" (soaping up outside area perfectly fine), wipe front to back (no brainer to me but i guess some people dont do this????) and TRY to have a lower refined sugar/carb diet (harder said then done especially being pregnant with cravings, i know, but just eliminating one or two sugary drinks or snacks a day really does help!) Anyway, i will get off my soap box now, i just wanted to share a little information with yall if anyone really was interested in trying some of these crazy ideas! BY NO MEANS am i a doctor but the consensus of information i read over the past year has pointed to those tips for the most healthy vajayjay.

edit - words...