lurker losing motivation- GBS+

Holly_1007

Hi everyone.  I know the GBS+ threads pop up here a lot, but lets be honest the bump's search function is less than ideal.  I've gone back a few pages but can't really find anything helpful.  and I need to vent a little as well. 

for a little bit of background my DS' birth wasn't that great. I don't regret it, but I definitely wish I was more educated going in.  I ended up with a 12 hour labor, epidural, episiotomy and vacuum extraction which led to tearing a bunch of rectal muscles and a pretty nasty recovery for my lady parts.  

This time around I am planning for a natural childbirth.  I am MUCH more educated and feel very well prepared.  well, I was, until I found out this morning that I am GBS+.  

My original labor plan was to labor at home as long as possible (we are 10 mins from the hospital)  arrive to the hospital just about ready to push, and then be discharged within 24 hours.  my OB is supportive of my plan (well, until this morning) but isn't overly NB friendly.  unfortunately I cannot change OB's or find a midwife due to insurance issues.  

Now I don't know what I'm going to do.  From the little research I've done about being GBS+  I think it means that I have to have IV antibiotics for 2 hours before the baby is born.  so I'm potentially looking at a 6 hour labor and spending 2 of it hooked up to monitors/ IVs in a hospital bed? from the research that I have done I'm not comfortable passing on the antibiotics. 

At this point I feel like I should just kiss my dream of a natural birth goodbye.  I just can't see myself being able to handle transition strapped to a hospital bed, especially since I couldn't handle it last time with DS.  There are no epidurals at my house, if I'm in a hospital I can see myself much more easily caving and asking for it. 

anyway.  anyone have any words of advice or encouragement?

VABride2008

I was GBS+ with both of my children.  I did not get the requried two doses of antibiotics either time before I delivered.  I was still able to have a natural birth each time, I just had to stay the full 24 hours for baby monitoring before we could be discharged.  It sucked being hooked up to an IV but really it was not that big of a deal.

Tiger269

IVs come on poles, the pumps are moveable, and the tubing is usually quite long, so you do not necessarily have to be confined to a bed in order to get the antibiotics. There are plenty of women who tested GBS+ that went on to have natural, unmedicated births, so please don't lose heart! A few speed bumps are no reason to scrap the entire plan!

Hyaline

My MW assured me that, had I been GBS+, I would have gotten my dose of antibiotic and been unhooked ASAP from the IV (the line would have been capped in case we needed to give it another go).  From what she said, it wouldn't take 2 hours, but timing within a window before delivery was important (so a long labor might mean more than one dose).  You shouldn't need to be hooked up the whole time--this is a hiccup, not a dealbreaker  

KrisM86

I was GBS positive with my daughter. My MWs gave me IV antibiotics every 4 hours. It only took about 30 minutes to get them in each time and I was unhooked in between. I was stressed about it beforehand, but it wasn't really a big deal.

I would talk with your OB about the different options for administering antibiotics. The hospital policy might be to have you hooked up the whole time, but they may have other options if you press the issue. 

demmie326

I remember thinking the same things when I found out I GBS+ when I was pregnant with DD. The agreement I reached with my OB was that I would labor at home as long as I wanted but once my water broke I would need to come to the hospital. My water broke at 2 am and we got the the hospital at 4am. They started the antibiotics immediately and DD arrived just after 10am. As PPs mentioned you can do just about anything with an IV. I was walking, squatting, in the shower, on a birthing ball, on a yoga mat...I did everything I wanted to do.  

Hang in there and best of luck! 

RockyMtnMama

I was GBS+ for both my previous births.  The first I had 3 rounds of antibiotics b/c I was in labor so long (water broke first for both labors).  The second I thought I had more time and got no antibiotics since I pretty much delivered <1hr after I arrived (at a free-standing birth center).

However, there are options.  You should ask your doctor if you can take oral antibiotics leading up to the birth or you can give yourself (or have DH give you) an antibiotic injection when you go into labor and then stay home.  Most natural-birth friendly docs/midwives will entertain these options.  You can avoid the IV and get the protection your kiddo needs.  You just might have to be a little pushy about it.

erb82

I was GBS+ with my second daughter, and it really threw me too.  I thought it was going to totally mess up my plan of laboring at home.  It shouldn't take 2 hours to get the IV drugs administered, it should take under 20 minutes (closer to 10 probably), but then you need a second dose 4 hours later.  My doctor told me that once I got checked in, and confirmed that I was in labor, they would administer the first round.  If I still had a ways to go, and my water hadn't broken, I would be free to leave the hospital, as long as I came back 4 hours later for the second round.  After the second round, they would recommend that I stay at the hospital but I wouldn't need to be hooked up to anything.  

Since you only live 10 minutes from the hospital, I would ask the doctor if something like this is possible.

 And for what it's worth, it turned out to be a non-issue for me.  I had a precipitous labor, got the hospital, got hooked up to the IV and started pushing while I was still being administered the first round of drugs.  And my daughter didn't have any complications.

perplexed59

I was GBS+ with my daughter. My labour was less than 4 hours so I didn't get the antibiotics in time. They did get it into me about 1 hour before the baby was born. It only took 2 mins to administer as it was in a tiny bag. Don't be defeated by this. It really is no big deal. If they are trying to give it to you as you go through transition tell them to stop so you can move around. They can try to administer after you are through. I got the iv during transition but I was labouring on my toilet and the midwives worked around everything I wanted/needed to do. 

Nechie122

The PPs already gave some great responses. I just wanted to let you know that I totally broke down and sobbed hysterically when I found out I was GBS positive. I'm not proud of that, but it's totally normal to feel like all is lost and it's NOT. You don't have to be hooked up between doses, you can still labor in different positions and with any luck, you'll get both doses well before transition hits and the real work begins. For me, it didn't even make me "risk out" of my birthing center, which had the tightest risk out policy you can imagine. You can still do this! Good luck!

pepomntpat

The IV is so not a big deal. I toted the pole around all over the place and they can take the IV out and just leave the heplock in once the antibiotics have been administered. It is really not a big deal at all.

Holly_1007

wow, thank you all SO much for the advice and encouragement! Like I said in my OP, my doctor isn't really that NB friendly, so I have a feeling me and DH will be fighting with the nurses/ doctors a lot.  thankfully DH is being very supportive and will know our plans in detail to be able to advocate for me.  

I've had a really uncomplicated pregnancy so I guess this just threw me for a loop (yes, I was in hysterics crying in the doctors office when she told me today)

hopefully I have a positive NB story to post in a few weeks!

ReichleyMama

Holly7-

I know it may feel hopeless... but you have got to, for lack of better words, man up and decide that this is something you want and do it.  I had iv pitocin for 8 hrs for one birth and no iv but made to stay in bed for 4 hrs with my other.  I was not about to let my circumstances decide whether or not I got an epi.  Yes, it will be hard, but if this is something you really want, do it!  Mind over matter.  You CAN physically do it!  This is meant to sound motivating, not mean, btw.  Focus your mind, maybe even get a little mad, decide you're going to do it, and DO IT. 

Best of luck!

ReichleyMama

StefandTodd

Will your OB possibly entertain the idea of retesting?  You could try to do a number of things to reverse your GBS+ status.

I'll share my story...my OB wouldn't retest, asked me what I was worried about and I told her - like you, I wanted to labor at home as long as possible, etc.  She said that basically that was fine and that I would definitely still make it to the hospital on time for antibiotics.  But I didn't.  Since she had reassured me I would, I seriously put it out of my mind completely, and just did my labor as I'd always planned on.  Got to the hospital dilated to 8, spent enough time in triage, etc that by the time they were getting ready to start an IV, I was feeling pushy and in transition so I asked them not to give the IV.  He was born within the hour.  So I had to stay for 48 hours for monitoring, but my little guy was super healthy. 

shutupanddance07

This is just another thing you need to educate yourself about. It sucks that you have to be your own advocate here, but you're a smart lady and you can do it!

Can you take antibiotics now to get yourself GBS negative before the birth?

I am planning a delivery in a birth center, and if I test positive for GBS, I'll get a shot, and baby will get a shot when he's born. It doesn't increase my risk level at all, and it's not even something they are treating like a big deal, so I'm not worried about it. Apparently it's really, really common. You can still do this! Don't let them force you into a birth situation you don't think is appropriate. You are the patient. You call the shots. 

ncbelle

I was GBS+ both times and had a med free birth both times. I did get the antibiotics - really not a big deal. I had a heplock and was hooked into the IV for my dose (I could still move around however I wanted and even labor in the tub - DH pushed the pole if I was walking) and unhooked once it was in. With Eleanor, I don't even remember the second dose because I was in transition - clearly it didn't phase me!

Honestly I think this is one of those things that gets blown out of proportion.  It's a bit of a PITA to be hooked up but it's so brief that it's not that big a deal overall.

LadyMadrid08

I was GBS+ with DD and I got the antibiotics once every 4 hours or so during labor.  They gave my first dose while I was hooked up to check on the baby for about half an hour.  Contractions had not really started yet because my labor started with my water breaking and they had me come in right away.  Every dose after that they gave me an IV I could walk with and I could be in the bath, shower, standing, squatting, whatever while I had it administered.  It was no problem whatsoever and I barely remember dealing with it during labor.  

If your hospital will allow you to I would go for the first dose when you can confirm labor then head back home until you have progressed more or need the next dose.  This is what I did with my midwife (in a hospital though) and it worked for me--I went back only a few hours after the first dose since the contractions intensified and sped up.  If you can't do this, don't worry--you can still have the pain-med free labor you want! 

What I would do (if you can at this point) is discuss having a mobile IV so that you aren't stuck for that time because that truly would stink imo.  If you can get that figured out then you should be good to go.  Also, they might not let you do this, but while they were looking for the mobile IV pole my H just held the bag up for me as I walked around.  I hope you find a way that it works out as well as mine did!  

Also, does the hospital where you'll be do fetal monitoring out of bed or do you have to lie down for it?  That would be another downside to being in a hospital so early in your labor...hopefully they are open to monitoring you in whatever psition you're in as mine is. 

katiekatieNJ

Hi!

 I'm GBS+ and my doc told me just to ask for a hep lock (sometimes called a saline lock) on admission when I go into labor - if the nursing staff has any questions or problems with that, they should just call the doc's office. They'll give me the antibiotics through the lock and then remove the line, and keep the lock in me for any future fluids I might need. That's it! Even if they did insist on an IV for the antibiotics, it doesn't take two hours to get into you. And you can totally walk/squat/etc with an IV.

Not to scare anybody because this was 1984, but my mom lost a baby to GBS because they didn't test for it back then (or they didn't at her hospital... malpractice, probably) and she had no idea she was GBS positive... baby wound up with a strep infection in the lungs. So I am totally getting as much antibiotic as they want to give me! But I'm not going to freak out about it b/c we all know what to do these days.

Anyway, this shouldn't be seen as something that might prevent you from having a NUCB! Good luck!