Another Strep B Question
homediva
member
Hi Ladies,
Does anyone have any experience with doing a natural birth and receiving the Strep B antibiotics - I read the post a few posts down about it but was curious if you found it made a big difference to your overall birth plan?
I had originally planned to labour at home for as long as possible with DH and a doula. To my understanding, it will only make me get to the hospital early if my water breaks. I feel like being in the hospital longer = more pressure for meds and less comfort of home so I am hoping that I just start to experience contractions and then go in when I would normally go in regardless of the Strep B (when contractions hit 5 minutes or so). So I guess my question is, if you were Strep B before, did having to go the hospital early make much of a difference?
TIA!
Re: Another Strep B Question
I was Group B Strep positive and my water actually broke on its own when I was at home. We waited about 45 minutes before going in and I still wasn't contracting. My original plan was to labor at home for a while before going in, but with the GBS I was nervous not going in right away. We went, got checked in, I was immediately administered the IV antibiotics, and about 30 minutes later contractions started.
The staff at the hospital I was at was great; I informed them at the very beginning that I wanted no pain meds, and I didn't want them offered. If I changed my mind later, then I would let them know. They never asked me again. I ended up getting Pitocin, but stayed strong on the no pain meds. I didn't feel any pressure to have the pain meds administered. (I WAS pressured to get the Pit due to the group B strep, because I was going so slowly.)
The IV made it a little tricky to move around, but honestly I wanted to labor sitting up in the bed. It was just the most comfortable for me. I was able to stand up and walk around a little and sway, but I preferred sitting.
I'm sure you could get away with staying at home for a while, but it made me nervous. Just make sure that when you get to where you're birthing you stay firm on them not offering pain meds. And the time the water has been broken may factor in... someone else may know better than I if that's a big risk or just something the hospital will scare you with.