Group B Strep

uncjules · May 2010

I see a Duke doc and had an email link this morning to my test result from last week. It says that I tested positive for Group B Strep and will need to have antibiotics during labor. That's all. I'm going to call the nurse once the office opens to ask questions, but of course I can't wait that long! If you had GBS, how were you treated for it? Were antibiotics given orally or through an IV? Were they given before or during labor?

I really wish this had been mentioned to me at yesterday's appt!

MrsHughesNC · May 2010

That stinks that they didn't mention it yesterday!

I believe it is fairly common, and you are treated with IV antibiotics during labor. I would think they'd be administered as soon as you're hooked up to your regular IV upon being admitted to the hospital, but I'm not 100% positive.

sophabelle · May 2010

i had it. at first i freaked out about it, but apparently it's quite common and not a big deal at all as long as they know you have it so you can get antibiotics.

so they'll give you antibiotics through iv and just a warning to you, it BURNS! but compared to everything else you'll be experiencing, that will not be a big deal at all lol.

MrsHughesNC · May 2010

And not that this would be the way to go, obviously, but my friend had it, and had a super quick labor. Like, her baby was born less than 20 minutes after they arrived at the hospital! They didn't have time to administer an IV (or the AB's), or an epidural, etc.. Everything turned out fine.

dbertagni · May 2010

I was positive for it at my first OB apt and of course I freaked out. I was put on 1 week of antibiotics and given an IV during labor, of which I don't even remember because like the PP said, compared to everything else, it wasn't a big deal, also, I didn't feel any burning. It is really common to have GBS and some of us just have it more naturally in our bodies than others, it isn't too big of a deal! I had no issues/side effects/symptoms of anything my whole pregnancy.

ECUGirl2004 · May 2010

FYI, if you're hoping to go naturally or delay the epidural, you can ask for the IV to be a hep lock so that they can administer the antibiotics and then disconnect you from the IV. It's a good way to make sure you still get the meds, but you aren't stuck to an IV the whole time.

uncjules · May 2010

ECUGirl2004:
FYI, if you're hoping to go naturally or delay the epidural, you can ask for the IV to be a hep lock so that they can administer the antibiotics and then disconnect you from the IV. It's a good way to make sure you still get the meds, but you aren't stuck to an IV the whole time.

Ooh! Thanks for that info. I want to wait as long as I can for the epidural so that I can move around freely, and definitely don't want to be stuck to the IV.

dbertagni · May 2010

uncjules:
ECUGirl2004:
FYI, if you're hoping to go naturally or delay the epidural, you can ask for the IV to be a hep lock so that they can administer the antibiotics and then disconnect you from the IV. It's a good way to make sure you still get the meds, but you aren't stuck to an IV the whole time.

Ooh! Thanks for that info. I want to wait as long as I can for the epidural so that I can move around freely, and definitely don't want to be stuck to the IV.

I had planned to ask for that but I forgot. I didn't get the epidural until I was 7cm and didn't have any issues with the IV, but I can't even remember having the IV (I know I did) and I used the birthing ball and all different positions (put ended with a c-section).

uncjules · May 2010

Turns out the antibiotics are given by IV as soon as I get to the hospital so they can get the meds in me quickly. Bummer. Somehow, I forgot to ask about the hep lock, but hopefully I will remember to do that at the next visit!

<3cici<3 · May 2010

i had it too. i was at the birth center in CH, so i was given a hep lock. they gave me 2 or 3 doses there before i got transferred to the hospital. the nurse said it was not a problem to keep my hep lock, so again i was not tied to an iv...i was allowed to shower which helped me labor until it was time to push. the last 20 mins i was due for another dose so they just hooked me up when i had a quick break from contractions. it didnt burn for me.

crescentmoon99 · May 2010

I was GBS positive too. They give the antibiotics every 3 hours (I think that was the frequency) in your IV. It does burn while they are going in, but it's not a huge deal. I was still able to get up and walk around between doses of the antibiotic.

Group B Strep

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