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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

GROUP B STREP and HOMEBIRTH?

43 replies

JARM · 11/05/2007 16:56

Is it a viable option?

Baby number 3 not due til late nov/early dec so LOADS of time, but I was told with DD2 I had group b strep and would HAVE to go to hospital, HAVE to have IV antibiotics and HAVE to stay in for AT LEAST 24hrs (i did discharge myself early tho!)

I would love to have baby 3 at home and just chill and relax - i had DD2 with just gas nad air and she was back to back and face presentation - no tears/stitches etc

Anyone know if its an option or do I really have to endure the nightmare that is hospitals ( I hate them!)

OP posts:
lulumama · 11/05/2007 17:09

homebirth site

if you are positive for GBS, i imagine you will have real problems being 'allowed' a home birth

AIMS site is good too

belgo · 11/05/2007 17:17

I had a home water birth with GBS. But I live in Belgium and had private midwives, paid for by my insurance. I'm not sure if my doctor knew I was GBS positive, as the midwives took the blood and checked the results themselves.

The midwives gave me the IV antibiotics during the labour, I'm not even sure if they were prescribed, they just seem to have a supply of them. I am fairly sure in the UK you can't get antibiotics without a perscription. Rules tend to be bent a little more in the Belgium health care system.

After the birth they carried out regular checks and everything was fine.

liquidclocks · 11/05/2007 17:28

JARM, how much do you know about group strep B? I wanted a home birth this time but when I found I was +ve and read about it I felt that it was safer for baby to be born in hospital. In the end my labour was too short for the IV to work and they kept us in for 48 hrs even though we were ready after 3/4. A baby died from strep B related meningitis here not so long ago, IMHO it's the sort of situation in which you put baby's needs before your own. Sorry if that sounds harsh, I was disappointed myself but in the end I felt I'd done the right thing.

liquidclocks · 11/05/2007 17:28

However, if you can get them to give you th IV at home then go for it

MrsSpoon · 11/05/2007 17:32

I wanted IV antibiotics at home with DS2, they wouldn't allow it in the area I live but I understand that some midwives are able to give the abs so it might be worth asking what the procedure is in your local area.

belgo · 11/05/2007 17:35

liquidclocks - I actually felt my homebirth was at least as safe, if not safer then a hospital birth; Constant care from two midwives and a student midwife. One midwife stayed until two hours after the birth, and came back again a couple of hours later, and in the late evening.

My waters didn't break until the baby was born, making it even safer.

SpawnChorus · 11/05/2007 17:36

You don't 'have' to do any of those things, as far as I'm aware. I was offered a homebirth, but decided that I wanted to have the ABs, so opted for a hospital birth (ABs can't be administered at a homebirth).

Bear in mind that the ABs need to be administered at least 4 hours before the birth if they are to be considered effective, so if you have a quick labour (as I did with DS, baby No2) they are basically a waste of time.

mrsmalumbas · 11/05/2007 17:40

Have a look at this article on GBS

Bear in mind that even if you carry GBS you may or may not test + and even if you test + you may or may not have active GBS colonisation at the time of the birth.

Assuming that you do tst +, then you need to decide whether or not you want the abx. The article above gives some info about the pros and cons and some alternatives.

If you do want the abx, then you need to find out from your midwife if it is possible to have them at home. If not, then maybe an independent midwife (i.e private) might offer you the option if your local PCT will not.

Of course, you can refuse any medical treatment including abx but not everyone will be comfortable with that or with the possible implications.

Klaw · 11/05/2007 17:45

GBS and Homebirth

I went to the hospital for my VBAC so that I could have IVABs.... but having researched more I'm not so sure about prophylactic ABs and will have the best test done at 37wks making a decision about hb after that. I still think that with careful monitoring and mangement I too could have a successful HBAC, as Group B Strep is not always active and there are more holistic methods of combatting infection like garlic etc. I will cross that bridge when I ttc next time.

Group B Strep and HB is NOT a step too far, if you do your research first!

SexGodess · 11/05/2007 17:45

God I wouldnt Regardless.

SexGodess · 11/05/2007 17:47

Klaw have you ever seen a baby with a GBS infection?? Garlic The only way of preventing infection is antibiotics.

goingfor3 · 11/05/2007 17:53

My 2 girls were both very ill after thier birth due to the fact that I had a strep b infection. With DD1 my waters broke about 40 minutes before she was born and I had ahd antibiotics, at five days old she became very ill and had to be readmitted to hospital for antibiotics. With DD2 my waters broke about 3 minutes before I had her and she was very ill only hours after her birth, she was treated with antiobitics in SCBU. I had tested negative for GBS with DD2 but the test gave a false negative. If I hadn't had any antibiotics in labour they would have suffered even more than they did. I would love to have a homebirth but the focus there would be on my needs and not the babies, it's not worth the risk.

Hillls · 11/05/2007 17:54

Homebirth with GBS!! you have got to be kidding - is this a wind up?

Original poster
JARM · 11/05/2007 17:57

I can see what you are all saying, of course baby has to come first, and it isnt so much the labour and birth in hospital i dont like, its the after-care. I just dont want that isolating feeling again, and would much prefer to be snuggled at home with my new baby and my DH and 2 DD's.

I will discuss it with my MW, see what she says, but I know last time around she was very adament I had to go to hospital as soon as labour started.

Thanks for the advice, just wanted to see if anyone had done it and whether it was a viable idea or not.

OP posts:
mrsmalumbas · 11/05/2007 17:57

www.gbss.org.uk/Microsoft%20Word%20-%202006_01%20Carry%20-%20internet.pdf his is also a very useful guide by the GBS support group.

SpawnChorus · 11/05/2007 17:57

Let's not forget that approx 1 in 4 women have GBS and very few are tested/have ABs and the vast majority of babies are fine. We should keep perspective on the issue.

belgo · 11/05/2007 17:57

I don't think a homebirth focuses more on the needs of the mother over the baby.

as my last post says, I had an incredibly safe home birth.

I wonder if an NHS hospital would have provided me with the constant care of two midwives, with 40 years experience between them, both more then capable of administering IV antiobiotics?

Original poster
JARM · 11/05/2007 17:57

Hills - there are plenty of women who have had home-births with GBS.

REad the links.... very encouraging.

OP posts:
mrsmalumbas · 11/05/2007 17:58

sorry

belgo · 11/05/2007 17:58

In fact, if I was in the NHS system, the chances are I wouldn't even have been tested for GBS in the first place.

Hillls · 11/05/2007 18:00

Wouldnt we all JARM but if your baby develops a GBS infection and ends up on life support like mine did for months and months with septiacemia/phnemonia(sp?) Meningitis it wont be a short stay of after care you will be worried about.

Have you seen my profile pictures?

belgo · 11/05/2007 18:03

Hills - It doesn't seem as though a hospital birth can necessarily prevent a GBS infection.

Original poster
JARM · 11/05/2007 18:05

there are no photos hills, and i appreciate you may have had problems with your child, but to come on and take the piss as you did in your first post was uncalled for.

I was asking if it was an option, and from the info given, I will talk to my MW, get swabbed at 36weeks and take it from there.

OP posts:
lulumama · 11/05/2007 18:08

dopn;t think hills is taking the piss

i have seen the photos of her DD, who was very sick, and i think from Hillls perspective, it would be a step too far, for her, and would find it hard to undertand anyone else taking that step

it is a personal and emotive issue ,where and how we give birth, and does arouse strong feelings

liquidclocks · 11/05/2007 18:12

Belgo - that's great that you had that experience but you're right, you're unlikely to have had that level of care with the NHS and I'd think highly unlikely you'd have got IV antibiotics at home.

JARM - you've got plenty of time to think about it so just read all the info and make you're own mind up abou the risks. The GBS website do have a very long document detailing the evidence around the risk factors and it's worth a read if you're finding the decision difficult. Whatever you decide, I hope it all goes well! No.3 - very brave IMO! Hope Jessica and Rebecca are just as excited