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Pregnancy

I've just found out I've got Group B Strep - what does this mean?

13 replies

LostLauren · 23/01/2009 12:23

I've been getting bad pains and this has caused my dr to carry out a urine and blood test and swabs. The results shown group b strep and she's given me antibiotics now but said I'll have to have them during labour.

Should I be as worried as I am???

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Picante · 23/01/2009 12:28

No you needn't be worried. A third of women have it and most of them don't know about it. It just means you'll have to have an intravenious (sp) drip during labour. It's a bit of a pain as you can't move about much but please don't worry.

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MsG · 23/01/2009 12:28

If you do a search on the NHS site it gives info on this - I was reading up on it the other day. As far as I know, if it's caught and treated then the baby should be fine and will be monitored for it after birth. I think it can go anyway, so you may not still have it when you give birth. But don't rely on my info as I'm not 100% sure - check it out. xx

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Phoenix · 23/01/2009 12:31

This site is really good and will tell you all you need to know.

I had GBS in my 1st pg and all was fine with ds

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MsG · 23/01/2009 12:36

Sorry to hijack LostLauren's thread, but how did you both find out you had it? I was reading a lot of women can have it without knowing, and that's when it's dangerous.

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LostLauren · 23/01/2009 12:38

I had a high vaginal swab done to find out why I was getting pain on my left hand side (bladder area).

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MsG · 23/01/2009 12:39

Best of luck, LL. Sounds painful, hope you feel better soon. x

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Phoenix · 23/01/2009 12:49

I was told it was picked up in a past swab, i'd never heard of it. Alot of NHS Trusts don't test for it because the infection comes and goes.

I'm 15wks pg with DC2 and when i asked about GBS at my 1st hospital appointment they said 'oh we don't test for it here so you won't need to have ab's in labour.' I'm thinking of paying for the private test at around 36wks.

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Tangle · 23/01/2009 12:49

GBS in newborns can be extremetly serious - but its also extremely rare for those complications to happen, even in women who are unaware they are GBS+ve or don't have IV AB's for some other reason.

There's more info with a slightly different viewpoint here.

Just to clarify, if you're diagnosed with GBS you may be recommended to have IV AB's during labour, but you don't have to have them - I'm not recommending you do or don't (I don't know the implications of having a UTI as well for one thing), but neither course of action is risk free (what is?) and I do feel a lot of women have them without realising that they have the choice not to and without being given the information to make a good decision. If that makes sense.

How far along are you? If you're fairly early in your pregnancy and you can knock the UTI on the head (and it might be worth checking if that was GBS as well) you might want to consider getting re-tested (privately, as the test is more accurate) at about 37 weeks as GBS can be transient - if that comes back clear then you're OK. You might want to dig around for info on GBS and garlic - there's a few women that have cleared their GBS infections successfully in this way.

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Carameli · 23/01/2009 21:12

It can be serious for newborns but as long as the hospital as aware I am sure they will keep a close eye on your and your new baby whatever you decide about abs in labour. With ds I was group b step positive and supposed to have ab's but was fully dilated when I arrived at hospital so there was no time. Ds was totally fine and a healthy 2yr old monkey right now

It is good to be aware of it but not something to have sleepless nights over.

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SingingBear · 23/01/2009 21:20

This reply has been deleted

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MavisGrind · 23/01/2009 21:22

I found out I had GBS after ds was born from a swab of the placenta. He had ABs as a cautionary measure for 5 days (they had a check list of possible risks and he ticked a few boxes) but he was absolutely fine. Some trusts don't even treat when GBS is found to be present. Just home monitoring of the baby.

It can be very nasty for a newborn but if you already know you have it something can be done. Good luck with the birth!

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Tangle · 23/01/2009 21:33

But isn't part of the problem that the mother having IV AB's in labout doesn't mean the baby can't pick up a GBS infection during birth? (I'd have to dig out the reference for this one - I know it wasn't desperately recent, but I haven't heard of any studies that refute the concept)

GBS disease in newborns is, thankfully, extremely rare for babies born to women that have no additional risk factors other than being GBS+ve. Whether to have IV AB's or not will always be a very personal choice based on how you weigh up the risks for you and your family.

Its so hard - because I do believe that it makes sense to know whether you're GBS+ve or not before labour, but I'm not so sure I believe that giving IV ABs to all women that test +ve is a sensible move. That would mean giving IV ABs to around 30% of women having children, and that has so many other implications - for the women as individuals and society as a whole.