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.

What a worrying time it was for you, Cadmum. Did your DS2 recover completely after the antibiotics or did you have to remain vigilant for quite a while after that?

Andif, I haven't had a bleed in this pregnancy but it is interesting what you've said about bleeds and gbs. Got tested because I was like a dog hanging on with gritted jaws to get it done.

It was a really high-stress/low fun time in our lives. We had 2 other children (5 & 3) and family and friends were 1000s of miles away... I still have trouble looking through his photograph album without stirring up dreadful feelings. I was convinced that he would not survive.

DS2 is now 3. I am not certain how many of his health concerns are down to the GBS (or more likely because he was septic by the time anyone was willing to listen to our concerns).

He was re-admitted for iv anti-biotics 3 times in total because there was just enough of the bacteria left in his system to have him succomb again. By the third stay in hospital (done privately by this point), we insisted that he remain on oral anti-b at home for 21 days (at the recommendation of our GP back in Canada).

Meant to add that I did not bleed during my pregnancy with DS2 and that I was GBS negative with DS1 and DD... (both born in Canada where the test is done routinely around 37 weeks.)

has 2 bleeds in my preg with ds1 and none at all with ds2. was + with both.

Sorry SweetFudge, have been away for a few days. In answer to your question, I had the IV administered when labour was quite well established but my case wasn't typical.

I was induced and contractions started immediately 2 minutes apart, but it wasn't for about 10 hours that we could get into a delivery room because the hospital was busy and all delivery rooms were being used. By that time, I was asking for an epidural, so despite writing in my birth plan that I wanted an active birth, I ended up strapped to a bed on 3 different drips: the epidural, the GBS antibiotics, and the syntocinon to keep the artificially-induced contractions going. I ended up with an emergency CS after 23 hours (for totally different reasons: a fibroid the size of a tennis ball under baby's head, undiagnosed during pregnancy). All my worries about the GBS preventing me from having an active birth seemed to pale into insignificance at that point.

I would think of your birth plan as a "best case scenario" plan, but don't get too stressed if events overtake it. Please don't worry about the GBS - the important thing is that you have a healthy baby and you have done everything you can to assist this by having the test done in advance, unlike most people. Let the hospital worry about how to administer the IV. You sound quite close to your due date now - is it imminent?

By the way, I never bled during my pregnancy despite carryng GBS.

Cadmum, what health concerns does DS2 have if you don't mind me asking? It sounds you had rather a battle on your hands with getting your hospital to take you seriously and is the last thing you need at the time!

TuttiFrutti, I'm in the middle of my 38th week now. (Your name is making me feel v. hungry btw!)

Thanks for replying. I'm a lot more relaxed about the whole thing now and can't wait for baby to arrive!

I agree about needing to be flexible about a birth plan and though I do want a waterbirth, I've not discounted all other forms of pain relief including an epidural in my plan. After all, this is my first baby and no one has an idea of what their pain threshold is like till they are in labour.

Hi sweetfudge. I was found to be gbs+ a week after my ds was born. Thankfully he was fine. So this time round (currently 28wks pg) I'm arranging the GBS.org test to be done by my gp/mw at 36wks. I really want a home birth but this has been put on hold until the results come back. Otherwise I will deliver in the hospital but will be cautious about the amount of ab they give me. I'm also keen to know how long the ab take to be administered. I was under the impression it was not very long, so this means you should then become completely mobile again once they've been absorbed. They only have to be readministered every 4 hrs, it's not that it takes 4 hrs to administer iyswim ! It might be that if you find out this info (eg. it only takes 10mins to administer) then you can say you can easily get in the water for the rest of the time until you need the next lot of ab. HTH and good luck with the birth!

99redballoons - What a fab, day brightening name you have! Good luck with the test results. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

My midwife has told me that my hospital's "no waterbirth policy" is due to concerns over risks of infected water and potential respiratory problems with the baby because of the gbs. I want the consultant to make more sense on this issue and to clarify it for DH and I on Thursday.

Hi sweetfudge, and what a mouth-watering name you have! Must be hard writing that one down all the time! And with tuttifruti doing lots of posting too I had to run off and get some sweets before finishing the thread!

Yes, really hope it's -ve this pg......

Let us know what the consultant says. Haven't heard of that reason before.

Hi Sweetfudge. I found out I had GBS at 14 weeks after a bleed and had yellow stickers stuck all over my notes. I too planned on having a waterbirth as I had had one with dd1 and had found it excellent for helping me to make the pain easier to deal with. The midwifes and hospital (Kings College Hospital) said that the antibiotics I needed shouldn't interfere with my birth plan. However, I had a very fast labour and they didn't even have time to run the bath! So, I can't tell you how the antibiotics fit in with a waterbirth. Dd2 needed 72 hours of antibiotics as wasn't breathing very well to start with and I had only managed 15 minutes of antibiotics. But, she's fine now (3 weeks old)and has proved negative for GBS.

I was also very scared by all the stuff on the website. But, when it actually came to the 'push and the shove' it really was the last thing on my mind. And, because the hospital knew I was a carrier dd2 got lots of attention from the paeds immediatly which was reassuring.

Good luck to you. Stick to your guns about the waterbirth. I can highly recommend it. I hope your labour goes smoothly and I'll look out for your birth announcement.

Thanks very much, Lolasmum. I'm very glad that your Dd2 has recovered and is -ve for it.

99redballoons, so it wasn't just me that started craving for something sweet today! Particularly jellies and chocolate raisins. Will let you know about how consultant plans to justify the waterbirth policy.

hi i an new to mumsnet i tested postive with group b strep in 1999 the knowledge of doctors was really poor we had a struggle to get antibiotics, as doctors didnt seem to know very much about it!!!!!!! I went into labour at 28 weeks and had drugs throuhout labour and was monitored throughout baby was also given antibiotics

I discovered i had GBS after a miscarriage at 16 weeks at the time of the bleeding a high vaginal swab was taken. At my next pregnancy they took another swab due to the previous miscarriage and after chasing the results myself because I work at the hospital found it to be GBS +ve. I was given IV antibiotics during labour and allowed to go in the water for pain relief. Ididn't deliver in the water because at 10cm dilated it was discovered that she was breech and I had an emergency section. She was very poorly after as she had inhaled meconium and nearly died. After ITU for 2 wks she recovered and was GBS -ve. With my 3rd pregnancy they didn't bother to test me. They treated me as if I had GBS and gave me IV abx during labour every 4 hrs. I couldn't go in the water this time as my waters had ruptured. We had to stay in for 24hrs after to monitor the baby for signs of GBS. She was fine.

I was diagnosed as positive for Group B strep after having a routine smear test after having dd (my second child). Although I had a second swab taken a month or so ago, I have been told that once you are positive, you will always be treated as such in subsequent labours. So sadly, the home birth I wanted is out of the window and am having to have a hospital birth under consultant care. My big issue really is that I had a quick labour and delivery with dd (3hrs from start to finish and it would have been quicker had she been the right way round - she was back to back!). So the midwives are arranging for me to have a home birth kit at home just in case we don't make it to the hospital (about 15 miles away)! Luckily my dh is a doctor although hasn't delivered babies since medical school . Could all be a bit of a drama, especially as I have two toddlers (one nearly three, and one 17 months) at home with me! Apparently if I don't get the antibiotics on board 4 hrs before delivery at least, my little one will have to have antibiotics after which will mean we will have to stay in hospital for 48hrs. Having done the min amount of stay in hospital before, I am not relishing the stay, but maybe it will be some good, enforced rest. After all, we have just moved house so am shattered! So thats my story. Am off to see the consultant at 38 weeks for an examination. He may well put me on a course of antibiotics prior to me going into labour, to try and preempt things - has anyone else been advised to try this?

Sallie - there is no benefit to having oral antibiotics before labour. The prophylactic treatment is IV antibiotics during labour. The baby does not actually need antibiotics if you do not receive the antibiotics in time in labour. Baby does need observed for 48 hours for any sign of infection developing.

How many weeks are you now, Sallie? I'm mid 38th week and seeing consultant tomorrow. What Mears has advised you about oral antibiotics for baby applies as well at the hospital I'm giving birth in.

Interesting that you were found to be +ve after routine smear test. I had one done last year and nothing came up. Didn't realise that smear tests check for gbs as well.

Good luck!

I am 36 weeks on Tuesday. Am being looked after by the Professor in Obstetrics at my hospital so interested to hear that the oral antibiotics won't help. Group B Strep positive picked up at routine smear test but tested negative about a month ago when had another swab. Sadly it makes no difference as once positive, always positive, apparently!
Will be seeing consultant again at 38 weeks when I will be examined and we will chat about the antibiotics. I guess each hospital/health authority has different policies. Good luck sweetfudge.

Hi Girls, just to let you know that 'once +ve always +ve' is a myth! I contacted gbss after speaking to my midwife who said the same thing.

This was their reply (GBSS) -
"GBS can quite naturally come and go from the vagina so the bacteria can be there one month and not the next ... and back again at some other time. So it's definitely not a case of 'once a carrier always a carrier'. There is currently no good data available that can predict carriage of GBS over periods of a year or more. However, since there may be some increased chance of a woman carrying GBS in a pregnancy if GBS has been isolated previously, our medical panel's view is that, if possible the pregnant woman should be offered a reliable Enriched Culture Medium (ECM) test at 35-37 weeks of pregnancy to establish whether the pregnant woman is still carrying GBS. If she is, then she should be offered intravenous antibiotics as soon as possible once labour has started."

I have just received my test kit from The Doctors Laboratory and hope to do the test in a couple of wks (I'm 32wks pg atm). It looks very straight forward and you can easily do it yourself at home so you don't have to get the mw/gp involved if you don't want to (eg. if they charge). HTH any new people wanting to find out more about GBS.

Sweetfudge, congratulations on little Max!! (saw it mentioned on a different thread)