Glad I have mumsnet - Got tested for Group B strep and just found am positive for it

[SweetFudge]

I want to thank mumsnetters for highlighting Group B Strep in pregnancy - After reading past threads on it, I asked to be tested and was turned down three times on the basis that "I was unlikely to have it" until last week when a great midwife relented and swabbed me.

She's just called and said I've tested positive and they'll put me on an IV drip in labour. I'm 37 weeks today and it is my first pregnancy.

I feel upset at the moment because of the possible risks though I know it is common enough to have Group B strep in pregnancy. Also rather angry that if I hadn't insisted on being tested, it wouldn't otherwise have been discovered before baby makes an appearance.

Should I make changes to my birth plan and if so, what sort of amendments? I'd like a water birth and have asked to remain as mobile as possible.

Thanks, ladies.

The same thing happened to me 3 months ago. Apparently 1 in 4 adults in the UK is carrying Group B Strep so you weren't that "unlikely to have it"! It's very common, and most babies are unaffected if their mother has it, but I took the view that better be safe than sorry, so I went for the IV drip. If you don't have the drip (and you do have a choice), the doctors like to give antibiotics to the baby straight after the birth, which I wasn't keen on.

Not sure if you can have an IV drip with a water birth, but your hospital will tell you. You could still be fairly mobile with a drip in (at least you could be upright), but obviously not as much as without one.

My top tip is to be flexible with your birth plan. It's good to have one, but don't be disappointed if you can't stick to it, as you just don't know what will happen on the day.

Thanks for your reply, TF. Can you tell me when you went into hospital for the drip to be put in? The GBS website says to go in at the onset of labour and this being my first, I don't know when that is exactly.

Called my labour ward and they said to come in for the drip when contractions are five minutes apart. Was that the case with you?

Also, the ward said a waterbirth was now out of the question

SF did you have to ask for the test and how likely is it to occur in second pregnancy? I never had it tested with ds

Sweetfudge,I'm glad that you found out in time.I am Group B strep + too & had dd2 10wks ago.Once the drip has given you your 'dose' of antibiotics,you can be detached from it-you won't need any more for 4 hours.I had a drip,but due to a very fast labour,I didn't get the full dose,so was kept in for 24 hours for dd2 to be observed.

Good luck

I had step b for dd3.
I had a fast labour, 1.5 hrs. When I got to the hospital & after some monitoring I had a drip or an injection through a canula. Strange to say that I don't actually remember as it caused me no probs at all. I was fully mobile, used a birth stool & went into the bath. I could have given birth in the bath but I didn't want to. A water birth wasn't a problem. I didn't get the full antibiotic dose as my labour was so quick so my dd had to have antibiotics for a few days afterwards. If you have a drip it wont stop you using any labour/birth position as you'll have the drip on a stand that will move where ever you go.
Strep b treatment shouldn't cause any probs in labour. The only thing I didn't like was my dd having to have antibiotics - but it was necessary. Thank goodness you insisted on a test. Best wishes

ahh sweetfudge, i'm sorry that it looks like your planned waterbirth is not going to happen. even with an iv drip running you can still saty mobile and shouldn't need continuos monitoring (if they say you have to ask them to clarify exactly why this is as group b strep alone isn't a reason for continuous monitoring) you can still mobilise, even go for a wander around the ward with your drip stand, have a bath, shower, sit on a birthing ball, kneel on all fours anything that helps you through it.
above all i would say that i know that you now have an extra worry for labour, but try and relax and enjoy it .
let the midwifes worry about the antibiotics, you just carry on with your labour and make yourself as comfy as you can.
i feel really excited for you to be so close to ahving a baby, especially your first, i still rememeber the excitment and anticipation now 8 years later.

Thanks very much for your replies, everyone. DH and I have been looking at the GBS website and are going to download some leaflets to take with us to my next antenatal visit. I called the labour ward as Vicki suggested and was told to come in for the drip when my contractions are five minutes apart - this is my first pregnancy.

Can you tell me what was the policy in your individual hospitals about when to come in for the IV?

I'd be grateful for any input on this as it will help me feel better about my hospital's policy on when to put the drip in.

Also, the midwife I spoke to on the phone earlier said that the IV antibiotics worked immediately and hence, to come in only when contractions five mins apart. I thought that the antibiotics took 2-3 hours to cross through to the placenta and therefore does not work immediately.

Nemo, I asked 3 times on separate visits for the test and was told each time that "I was unlikely to have it" and so was turned down. Kept insisting and finally one midwife relented and swabbed me last week.

Like I said, I am very, very grateful to the MNs who highlight GBS and how we must all get tested or insist on it.

I am feeling upset and somewhat overwhelmed after reading through the info on the GBS website. I realise it is common enough and bless my darling DH who sat down and like the true mathematician he is, worked out the low statistical likelihood of any infection passing on to our bub based on the figures from the GBS site.

I know I'll feel better about it all and calmer in a day or so. Just need to work it through.

The GBS site is a great source of information but can seem somewhat overwhelming. You should call their helpline and discuss your worries as they are very good in telling you exactly what you should do. I had GBS with DS1 so went for anti-b's second time around and everything was fine. I was advised to come in imediately if my waters broke to start the anti-b's and I believe that it is preferred to have two doses prior to giving birth. You will probably have to be quite pushy about what you want as there still seems to be a distinct lack of knowledge about this condition. Good luck!

Thanks, Louli - Can you tell me if the helpline is from the gbss.org.uk website? I've just had a look at their contacts page and there is a telephone number but it is manned intermittently or else goes to answerphone.

I was advised to go in as soon as my waters broke.As my 1st baby arrived in 4 hours,I knew that there was no way that I'd have time to get all the antibiotics needed.I was right & dd2 arrived in 1.5 hours.The hospitals policy was not to give the baby anti-b's unless she showed signs of infection.After the birth she was checked & had her temp taken every hour for about 12 hours-luckily she was fine.

For what its worth,when I was pregnant with dd1,23 months ago,I asked to be tested for GBS & was refused,so in all likelyhood I had it when I gave birth to her too,but will never know now.

The website is very helpful,but does tend to make you panic.I posted on here after finding out I was GBS + got loads of reassurance from other mums who had it too.

I'll look forward to reading about your new arrival soon!

I have GBS but this was only discovered after I had my ds by an emergency section. His temperature was a bit high when he was born and he was put on 3 hourly obs for 24 hours but didn't need any anti-bs or anything. I agree with other posters who say the GBS leaflets etc can be guilty of scaremongering. The good thing about not knowing about my GBS was that I could spend time in the birthing pool and pretty much do my own thing for the first bit of labour. As far as I'm aware hospitals are very alive to the whole GBS issue so I really wouldn't worry about it unnecessarily. You've obviously done lots of research and as with everything forewarned is forearmed. Good luck!

Once the m/w thought that I was in labour I had antibitotics. On arrival at the hospital I had some monitoring to show if I was in labour as waters hadn't broken. My contractions were every 2 mins but not painful at all. GAve birth in 1.5 hrs! dd had antibiotics for 3/4 days afterwards as I hadn't had the full dose. I could go into the bath as waters intact. They only broke just before delivery.

SweetFudge - I have GBS and had my DD 3 weeks ago (I also have 2 boys). The policy at my hospital was to put big yellow stickers on my hand-held and hospital notes so anyone looking after me knew I had GBS.

I was induced (nothing to do with the GBS) and the antibiotics were administered using a venflon rather than a drip, which gives you much more mobility, although it's not very comfortable.

One thing I asked for in my birth plan was if they could use an anaesthetic spray when inserting the venflon, as I'm rather feeble about needles.

I have quick labours so didn't actually get anything like 4 hours of antibiotics.

In terms of timing, they sited the venflon when I had started having contractions but before they thought I would need the antibiotics. The midwife looking after me called on another midwife to site it - I'm not sure why. Their protocol also required them to call a doctor to observe the antibiotics being administered, which caused some delay as there wasn't one immediately available. As this is your first baby, it's difficult to know how much time you should allow for these sort of delays but I would certainly err on the side of caution.

The risks are miniscule if you get the antibiotics - just finding out you have GBS is the best thing you could have done. The horror stories are all about people who didn't know they had it, so please don't worry.

Sweetfudge - no reason why you cannot have IV antibiotics and a waterbirth - we do that in my unit. All you need is a cannula (venflon) in you hand/arm where the antibiotics are given. There is absolutely no reason why you cannot use the pool. We wait until labour is diagnosed (cervix thin and opening) before giving first dose. Best if antibioics are given within 4 hours of delivery but if baby is born before 4 hours then he/she is observed for 48 hours (4 hourly temp and respirations).

I was tested for GBS because I am allergic to penicillin and therefore would have had to have another ab prescribed for labour. I didn't have it - but could still have had waterbirth even if I did.

Sweetfudge, I had GBS and was allowed a waterbirth. The mw was fantastic and stuck a canula in and quickly gave the dose (took under 5 mins). Then I got in the pool. As it happened I didn't like being in water so didn't stay in that long but certainly the IV didn't affect being allowed in the water or my labour in any way at all really (except having to be in hopsital rather than at home )
all the best.

hi everyone,

Thanks very much for your reassurances and for replying. It has really helped me worry less.

Mrs Darcy, I will be seeing a consultant on Thursday - was assigned one due to previous miscarriages so will ask again about the no waterbirth policy at North Middlesex.

I must say it has rather brought me down since I would like to have water for pain relief even if I can't get a waterbirth. Also, thanks for the heads up on the anaesthetic spray which I will ask about. I'll prod him about the protocol for antibiotics being administered to gauge how much time I should allow for getting to the labour ward. So far, I've been told to come in when my contractions are 5 minutes apart to get the drip started.

Mears, I was talking to someone today who has given birth at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford and their policy is to disallow waterbirths/water for pain relief if gbs +ve. Why the discrepancy between hospitals - Surely, if the antibiotics are given enough time to cross the placenta, then baby has good protection. I'm going to ask the consultant again about water for pain relief. Worth a go.

the no waterbirth thing applies at the hospital where i had my babies and my consultant overode it and said it was stuff and nonsense. i got him to write it all over by notes.
as i've said before please please don't worry too much about this.the majority of babies are fine- and remember carrying gbs does not mean you have the illness iyswim.

I was diagnosed after DS arrived. I thought the post-birth discharge wasn't quite right and that's when they tested. Fortunately he was okay. For DD's birth, I had long drawn out labour (not all of it in labour though!) over five days and was given countless bags of antibio's. Eventually needed emergency caesarean and luckily everything all okay. One thing I feel the GBS may explain in my case though, is at least two of the three miscarriages I have had as they were identical in what happened. I think it's an area that could do with a lot more research.

Right, I'm really going to prod consultant on the issue of water for relief and birth now. Thanks!

What I do think is a shame is that a)the test is not routinely offered to pregnant women b) the NHS test is only about 50% accurate about -ve results.

I do now realise that the risks of a newborn being infected are low even without the antibitotics and plenty of mums aren't aware of their +ve status when they go into labour.

But it remains a fact that gbs has the ability to severely compromise the health of newborns and since there is an effective protective measure available - why not make information on gbs more available to pregnant women?

At my gp's, the antenatal clinic and maternity unit, the noticeboards are plastered with all sorts of pregnancy info relating to stds, chlamydia, gestational diabetes, etc. Nothing on gbs - Shouldn't mums be given some basic info on it to allow them to make an informed choice on the matter of testing?

I am in exactly the same position. I wanted a water birth, but at Kingston hospital this is in a midwife-led unit with no doctors allowed. It is therefore very unlikely that they will be able to administer the antibiotics I will need.
However, my GP said that GBS has only really become 'trendy' in the past 2 years (explains why I'd never heard of it and this is my 3rd pg!!). She said that even within the same hospital, practice varies from doctor to doctor - some panic and give antibiotics immediately you go into labour, some wait and just observe the baby for a couple of days. It's all totally confusing, but I think I will nag for antibiotics to be on the safe side.

Trendy? Amongst whom? A bizzare and callous comment to make to you, Andif.

Good luck!

I don't think 'trendy' was the exact term used - that was just the gist of it!! The GP was actuallly v sympathetic, but made the point that very little seems to have been known, or done about GBS up until the last 2 yrs. It just makes me cross that I could have carried it with my first 2 pgs and just been lucky. I'm automatically tested for all sorts of bizarre diseases (sickle cell, AIDS etc) that really aren't relevant to me at all, but not for GBS which can obviously be so dangerous. I was only tested this time after a bleed at 20 weeks - has anyone else had this, as I think it is interesting that everyone I know who carries GBS has had a bleed in pg, but there doesn't seem to be an official link.

Andif: Trendy seems a very strange description for a life-threatening bacteria...

Funny how it DIDN'T feel very trendy when DS2 was on i.v. anti-biotics for a week... (3 times in total.) Guess I missed my chance to hang with the cool crowd... At the time I just remember being filled with fear (for his life) and anger at my midwife's lack of information about testing which was available but just not 'done'.

It has been tested for in Canada since before 1997 (when I delivered DS1)... Hadn't really thought that we were setting a trend.