Lulumama

[WestCountryLass]

It seems you are the one in the know about all things maternity...

I was at a homebirth support group and one of the ladies there wanted a homebirth but had group b strep. She had called an organisation who support Mums to be with GBS, not sure exactly who they are, and they had told her she could have a homebirth if she could find a medical professional who would administer IV antibiotics in labour.

The midwives at the support group said they would not give the antibiotics as they did not carry the drugs and nor would any of the GPs at the practice. They also did not think any independant midwives would be able to give the drugs either.

Do you know whether there are any medical professionals in the community who would give IV antibiotics?

TIA

Hello

Have been looking into GBS lately, and there seems to be a dearth of good info about it! And from what i can gather, finding an IM or community midwife to administer the antibiotics is virtually impossible.

the only other community practitioners i can think of are district nurses, but then they would need to get the antibiotics from somewhere, that might be the difficult bit

it might be that community midwives want to be able to administer the drugs but cannot get them.

not 100 % sure of the protocols of prescribing and administering IV drugs outside of a hospital setting

I wonder if it is safe to have the baby at home, then transfer in for antibiotics? probably not , as it is the journey down the birth canal that is the risk factor

will have a bit of a look around for some info

if anyone else knows the answer in the meantime, jump right in ! xx

Have you asked on the homebirth yahoo group as I think there are a number of women on there who've been in a similar situation.

There's also some stuff about it on the homebirth reference site

good letter that was sent to midwife and link to GBS support group

no one seems willing to touch the IV ABs - even in midwife-led birth centres - due to the risk of allergic reaction to penicillin.

you can try and get one dose of IV ABs at your local hospital and transfer home. takes negotiation, and our local hospital said 'no' unless I was willing to go in every 4 hours! they are pretty militant though. you could always walk out, however, once you've had one dose

most women rely on the oral ABs for hb, but you could be recolonised within 24 hrs so you need to get the course (5 days) spot on.

one piece of new info I learnt, though, from recent discussion with hospital consultant: was told that if you have tested GBS +ve for a previous birth, had no ABs but the baby was unaffected, the RCOG guidelines are that ABs AREN'T req'd. was v.suprised, but the info is on their website.

Agree that it would be hard to find someone able to administer the IVAB's. I reckon the best person to talk to would be the GP as they would probably know better than the midwife who would be/could be able to visit you at home on a 24hr on call basis to do this. I know from sending patients home who will die without IVAB's that even then it can be very hard to arrange.

Thanks ever so much everyone. I was intrigued as to whether there was a solution. The only occasion I can think of IV meds being given in the community is pallative care and PCAs.

I also wondered if she could go in and have the antibiotics and transfer home but the emidwives at the support group said it wasn't possible.

I have my own views on what I would do but this Mum to be really wanted a homebirth and was given hope by the support group she contacted.