New Research Compilation on GBS

A37licia

Evidence Based Birth Takes on Group B Strep: An Interview with Rebecca Dekker

Longer article linked in the interview, which is more relevant than the interview. It's an interesting read.  It was new to me that most of the early GBS infections happen before labor even starts, according to this article.  Here was my comment that I posted:

"This was very interesting to me, and I appreciate the thorough information. For two pregnancies now, I have declined the test based on the research I did. I am compelled to make the same decision this time, largely because I am allergic to penicillin and am not comfortable taking the few alternatives preventatively (vs after a serious infection where it?s clear abx are needed), in addition to future health consequences of having antibiotics at birth. I wondered about women who tested negative, knowing status can change before birth, so I found this interesting too: ?Most of the cases of GBS in term infants (61%) happened in women who had been screened but tested negative for GBS.? Lastly, my last labor was only 2 hours, and the midwife arrived an hour before the birth, no time for antibiotics.

A potential harm that should be listed is the long term affects of receiving antibiotics with its effect on gut health, destroying good bacteria that can never be replaced. We have a large increase in gut related health problems in children, and antibiotic use is one of the culprits. My approach so far has only been to use antibiotics when necessary, and not as a precaution. I am not comfortable reducing the already small risk of GBS infection by accepting abx, and as a result inflict known damage on my baby?s gut.

I?m curious if there is a difference in the upward journey of the bacteria if is present in the vagina and not the rectum, and vice versa.

Lastly, I?d be fascinated to learn any differences in infection between home births, which tend to have few vaginal exams, and hospital births, which tend to have more vaginal exams. I can?t imagine there isn?t some ?help? received by pushing any bacteria farther up the birth canal, if those exams happen shortly after water breaks, and at the end of pregnancy with routine checks at OB offices, which is the same time this research has indicated early infection tends to occur (which makes sense if a baby would show symptoms as early as an hour after birth).

Great article, good research ? this will be helpful to many!"

 

tantdylf

danuli8

I was very excited to see this article today as well. I tested GBS+ and was leaning toward declining abx for the same reasons the OP cites. However, I am reconsidering in light of some of the information presented in the article. For example, I was not

A37licia

A commenter posted this study, which I found interesting regarding the effectiveness of probiotics to ward off GBS moving up to the uterus.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

tantdylf

BreanneL24:

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A37licia

BreanneL24:

I didn't read this article, but my home birth MW recommends a specific probiotic strain for her clients to tak

huntjul

A37licia:

A potential harm that should be listed is the long term affects of receiving antibiotics with its effect

A37licia

huntjul:

While I agree that antibiotic use can change gut bacteria, newborns have no gut bacteria.  That colonization occ