Strep B positive

Pinknights · January 2014

Just found out I'm Strep B positive. I'm reallly disappointed. I know its not the end of the world. Everything else is great in the pregnancy right now, about to be 38 weeks. But I wanted to labor at home for a longgg time. While I know I still can labor at home, the thought of going to the hospital earlier is upsetting. Anyone have a good story to share of strep b positive? Thanks!

barnwife · January 2014

I was GBS+ with J. After much discussion with my MW and research on my own, we declined the antibiotics. (It seemed crazy to us that all + women are treated when it's only a problem for a small minority. Also, just because you are + now, does not mean you are necessarily still positive at delivery. Those were just some of our thoughts.)

Anyway, everything went just fine. Frankly, I'd still labor at home as long as you want to.

CurlieWhirlie · January 2014

Agree with PP. I was GBS+ with DS and no one ever told me I had to go to the hospital early. I did take the IV antibiotics, but by the time I delivered him it had been fewer than four hours so the antibiotics hadnt even reached the baby anyway, and he was fine. It's really not a big deal,

Chichigo · January 2014

My labor progressed really quickly- we planned to go to the hospital at 4-1-1, but my contractions went from 5 to 7 minutes to 3 minutes apart in the blink of an eye. I didnt get a full dose of antibiotics, so the pediatrician delayed discharge about 6 hours for extra observation. We were also dealing with slight jaundice.

Pink724 · January 2014

I was GBS+ and my OB said the only reason I would have had to go to the hospital early was if my water broke (which it didn't until I was 9.5 cm and almost ready to push). I labored at home for as long as I could (by the time I got to the hospital my contractions were less than 2 minutes apart and I was 7cm).

michelle615 · January 2014

I had GBS with DS but delivered too quickly to receive the full dose of antibiotics. They kept us about another 12 hours for observation. Other than jaundice the first few days at home that we needed to treat, he was good as well.

shiway · January 2014

You can get retested!

alliejoe · January 2014

My labor started with my water breaking and I didn't get the dose in 4 hours before delivery. The pediatrician at the hospital made it a pain in the rear to leave and we were there for a full 48 hours before discharge.

I'm gbs+ again this time and talked to my mw about it and she said a couple of interesting things.;If you have a fast labor with your water breaking near the end then there is little concern anyway and there are new studies saying you only need an hour between the abx and birth. Also, the old 48 hour observation was based on when they used to culture babies exposed to gbs, but they don't do that anymore (I don't know if that's a hospital specific thing or not though)

J&Jaggies06 · January 2014

I've been positive with both my pregnancies. My MW did say if I went to my due date I could request to be retested but realize the test takes a couple days to get results so there is a chance I could go into labor before the results came back. GBS does come and go.

That being said, my water broke, we went straight to the hospital but labor was so fast that pretty much as soon as the antibiotic finished I was pushing. Since it wasn't in my system long enough the hospital policy is to keep the baby for 48 hours instead of the usual 24.

FeistyFrenchBride · January 2014

I agree with everyone's thoughts, but just wanted to add a comment on the other side of things.

I was GBS+ with my first babe, and am allergic to penicillin, so I was especially reluctant to consent to the other antibiotic options (since typically they have to be readministered more frequently)... But I had my water break very early and decided to go ahead. I didn't love being restricted with the iv etc., and I thought I would decline antibiotics if the same situation came up again for subsequent births.

However, I recently spoke with someone who declined the antibiotics and sadly lost her baby after delivery. I know this is rare, but it is a reality sometimes.

That completely changed my view. I don't like the blanket administering of antibiotics, but I personally won't take the risk of that heartbreak.

I guess I just wanted to say that it's not the end of the world if you do go for the antibiotics either. Make the choice that feels right for you and your baby.

alliejoe · January 2014

@feistyfrenchbride I was put on clindamycin (sp?) Because I'm also allergic to penicillin. They said it would need.to be readminitstered every 4 hours. I don't know if that's longer or shorter, but I guess something you could ask about?

alphahelix · January 2014

I was also GBS+ with my first baby and I was initially really upset about it, but in reality it didn't change my birth plan to any great degree. I still labored at home as long as possible - I was 6 cm when we arrived at the hospital and baby was born 3ish hours later. I did receive one dose of IV antibiotics, but didn't have time for the second. They just monitored the baby a little closer but she was fine.

Having the IV in was not my first choice, but I was still able to move around, get in the tub, etc. My husband and nurse would just move the pole with me and help arrange the tubes, really NBD.

I also wanted to add a little advice - if you do receive IV antibiotics I would highly recommend taking some kind of probiotic daily before and after you deliver (I now use Azo Yeast) because I got a terrible yeast infection which led to baby getting thrush a few days after she was born... no fun. Good luck - you'll do great!

muffyvonmuff · March 2014

MommyAtty · March 2014

My doc just told me the antibiotic they would use with me only needs 2 hours to work and only requires one dose. I'm allergic to penicillin too. I'm going to have to ask about re-administration again. Interesting.

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