I was hoping to have a MLU waterlabour/birth on minimal pain relief. I really wanted to labour at home as long as I was comfortable then going to the lovely MLU 5 mins from home for a calm, as private as possible birth followed by skin to skin contact with my new baby and establishing breastfeeding. Yes, I realise that realistically I may not have got this, as baby's plans might have been different, but that's what I was aiming for.
I had a routine urine test at 28 weeks which showed I might have a UTI. The sample came back positive for group strep B. I have a meeting with a consultant next month to discuss things, but I have been advised that I'll need to go to the CLU an hour away because I'll need to have IV antibiotics during labour. When I asked if that meant I wouldn't be able to move around during labour, I was reassured that they put in a canula and give antibiotics every 4 hours, so I wouldn't be connected constantly to an IV.
I'm happy that the IV antibiotics are important for baby's health but obviously I'm now trying to work out if I can still have the kind of birth experience that I'd like, despite the antibiotics. I've read that its possible to use a birthing pool in labour as long as the canula is kept dry, but in practice, I don't know if the CLU has a birthing pool or if they would allow me to use it if it was available.
I do have anxiety issues and I was fairly confident that at the MLU my preferences would be supported, mainly because its the type of birth that is normal for them. I'm not confident that I will be able to articulate and argue for things that are important to me during labour, in a more medicalised CL environment, especially if my partner isn't always able to be present. I'm particuarly wary because I know I'll need to go in early in labour for the IV, and am worried about being rushed into interventions to 'speed things along' when I'm quite aware that first time labours can be long.
So I really want to know what to expect from a CLU. I really don't want to end up stuck on my back, out of it on pain relief, vulnerable, and then for my husband (who I am rarely apart from) to be sent home because of strict visiting hours and have a newborn to look after alone whilst I'm not yet recovered enough to take care of one (have heard that the ward is busy and noisey so don't know how much help will be available, or how assertive I'll need to be to get it).
I'd like to be able to transfer to the MLU or home quickly if the birth is straightforward and baby is healthy so that I can be in a quieter more settled environment to bond and learn to feed baby. I've heard babies born to mothers with Strep B are often kept in for observation for the first few days to make sure they haven't picked up the infection, but I don't know if this is just when there hasn't been time to give enough antibiotics during labour.
Obviously the hospital's proceedures regarding Strep B are something I'll need to speak to the consultant about. Is there anything else I should ask?
What were your (hopefully positive 
) experiences of giving birth as a Strep B mum? Will this affect birth choices in future pregnancies (was hoping to have future MLU or home births)?
This may or may not be complicated by my allergy to penicillin and needing an alternative antibiotic.
Sorry for the length of this... must be more anxious about it than I thought. 