strep b? should i be worried?

[Sophiehfz2805]

Its been just over a month since my late miscarriage.. (5month). On antibiotics because a swab came back results saying i had infection , which was Strep B.

So confused right now about everything. I want a baby so badly again i just feel worried about next pregnancies? Has anyone had this and had healthy babies? Read alot about it and its freaking me out.

Sorry to hear what you've been through.

It was discovered i had GBS whilst pg with DS2. I may have had it with DS1but i wasn't tested. I was given IVAB during labour for ds2 and ds3. They were all healthy.

I think the GBS risk to babies in utero is v v small, AFAIK the risk is during birth, picking up the bacteria from you. Maybe you would find it reassuring to get in touch with GBS support? I found them v helpful when i contacted them.

Be kind to yourself and once again, sorry to hear of your loss.

I found out I had GBS with dc3. I found out a few days after lo was born. No idea if I had it with first 2. All three were fine and healthy. I had antibs after dc3

Thank you for the reply and info ladies means alot. I just got worried because i had a late miscarriage and when my waters went it caused the infection to happen and pass through to my baby through the amniotic fluid.. as my midwife told me. I read that sometimes Strep B causes late miscarriage but its very rare, that happened to me. Im worried that it'll keep happening every time i'm scared :/

Sophie,

Have you had a follow up with a consultant following your loss? Did your hospital offer you this?

If it makes you feel better, alot of friends I know had this during pregnancy and had antibiotics at the time and then antibiotic drip when they were in labour in order to make sure it didn't effect baby. All babies (3 in total I think) were fine.

No i haven't yet but i've spoken to my midwife about it and she said next pregnancy i'd have antibiotics during labour but she didn't mention about having them throughout pregnancy too. I just feel so worried about it all. Im on antibiotics right now because it caused me to have a infection, cause my waters went at 5 months pregnant then got an infection then it passed to baby:(

Hi Sophie, yep I've seen some of your previous posts. Once again, really sorry for your loss. I only ask about the appointment ss I think the doctor will be able to answer your questions a bit more thoroughly and hopefully put you a bit more at ease re infection controls.

As far as I'm aware, once they know you have strep b, you have a drip when in labour in order to protect the baby. I'm pretty sure having strep b does not mean you will be on antibiotics throughout pregnancy.

Also, did you say you were trying again to conceive? Could be a good idea to wait till infections are cleared but I'm no medical professional so maybe ask your mw? Just a thought!

Take care

I am so sorry for your loss. What a terrible thing to happen to you and your baby. Do speak again to your midwife as she sounds approachable and informative. I would also ask to speak to a consultant about your experience and future pregnancies.

Group B Strep is a bacteria that lots of people carry and it can come and go without issues but can indeed be very dangerous if passed to a baby during labour 7 birth.

You could ask to be tested to see if you are still carrying GBS now and consider whether diet and supplements might help to clear it, then test regularly before conception and during pregnancy. .

Take a look at this as a starting point wellnessmama.com/8680/avoid-gbs/

Balancing your gut and vaginal bacteria could be beneficial to your overall health and to that of your future baby. Research in this area is showing links between gut bacteria and allergies though there is little strong evidence of what interventions if any are effective. Anecdotally, I have seen positive effects within my family.

Thankyou for the reply. But how do i balance both of them? I'm not sure how i'd be able to balance them both would that be using a diet plan. And what about bacteria for vagina?

Hi Hun, Im very sorry for your loss. I can understand how scared you are as I almost lost my little boy to GBS meningitis after birth (he was full term) and I developed sepsis from GBS. I always carry GBS (every swab comes back with it) and did through both of my pregnancies but was not given treatment first time despite requesting it. Second pregnancy they automatically treated me due to first experience, so yes it is possible to have a healthy baby.
I would recommend getting in contact with the Group B Strep Support charity who were great with answering questions and will provide stickers for your notes to make sure you get the treatment you need. Sadly, a lot of health professionals are still poorly educated on this issue
All the best x

Thank you for the reply. Wow that must have been really worrying for you. Im happy that your little one is healthy yeah i just literally found out because after my mc i went to hosp because of unusual bleeding and they took 2 swabs. Vaginal and cervix. Then they came back 1/2 week later with both infection. I had antibiotics for them and still on second course of them right now, i asked midwife to tell me what it was and she said strep b. Not heard of it much but i looked into it and im scared incase it affects my next pregnancy. As i read that it can cause late miscarriages? If that is the case can't they give me antibiotics to treat it during preg or something to protect baby? I feel quite scared about it all:( and thamk you for the info x

I was told that there isn't much point in treating it during pregnancy as it could clear and then come back. The best thing is to treat during labour with IV antibiotics. Your experience is different to mine though so I would definitely check with the charity I mentioned above. They are fab, I found it so difficult to get accurate information and advice but they were great.

But i read that it can cause late miscarriages? I feel like every time i may get pregnant it may end in a late miscarriage because i have strep b? :( i feel so stressed. Or am i just thinking way too much? It cant cause late miscarriages all the time right? X

I too am sorry for your loss. I had a strep b infection when my last child was born. She arrived early at 31 weeks due to it and spent a month in NICU. I never even knew about it, bit didn't follow up on it as she was my last baby.
Like someone else has said, get an appointment with either the hospital or your gp to discuss it, and what it could mean for future pregnancies. I wish you all the best.

There is a school of thought that there is not much point in treating it with antibiotics as it might come back.

There is little hard evidence in conventional medical literature that the nutritional approach is beneficial.

However, among the 'natural health' community, there is a school of thought that it is possible to make your body less susceptible to harmful bacteria using diet and probiotics. Eating greens, less sugar and white carbs, taking good probiotics, eating natural antibacterials (garlic, coconut oil etc) and fermented food will all help to balance your gut flora and will improve your resistance to harmful bacteria. I have personal experience of frequent bouts of thrush, strep A and MRSA infections which were not responding to antibiotic treatment. (and not Group B Step, it is only from my reading about bacteria that I have come across this) Following a probiotic diet with no dairy, sugar or grains has helped me and my family. My DS was very unwell as a baby and I had to fight hard to get his gut bacteria analysis done privately, accepted and acted upon but for us, at least, it really did have a huge impact. We had the help of a nutritionist and naturopath to understand what we needed to do.

In my experience, no one person has all of the answers and there is no one fail safe solution but sometimes it is worth following more than one avenue to find the answer that works for you.

No it won't cause miscarriages all the time. Around 1 in 4 people have GBS and most will go on to have healthy babies and problem free pregnancies.
I hope everything goes well for you next time xxx

Thank you for the messages and the info i will take this up with my doctor and ask about everything when i next have a doctors appointment. I got told i have a doctors app at 6 weeks then a hosp app at 12 weeks to see the may have been cause for miscarriage x

Take care and know that this is not something you did.

It is a good idea to take probiotics alongside and after antibiotics for up to three months,,

This one is one that was recommended to me. www.amazon.co.uk/Prescript-Assist-Spectrum-Probiotic-Prebiotic-packaging/dp/B00JB2GOFI/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1467666394&sr=8-1&keywords=prescript+assist

Probiotics during pregnancy? Does it prevent anything happening? And take antiobiotics up to 3 months after birth do you mean? Sorry i got a little confused on what you meant x

Oh sorry i just read it properly i understand what you mean now. So take those tablets up to 3 months. Do they help?

I am sorry to hear that. My Dsis lost her first baby to GBS at full term, he died shortly after birth. She has had two beautiful healthy children since and while they treated her in labour just in case there was no reoccurrence.

I have 3 DC and had GBS with one who was in for a week under treatment and is absolutely fine now, again didn't have GBS with the previous 2.

It can come and go in all women and it sounds like your waters broke then the GBS passed so not the cause of your late MC?

You need to speak to your consultant and also pick up the phone to www.gbss.org.uk who are wonderful and will really help guide you through this.

You were incredibly unlucky and it's so sad xx

Again, there is little strong evidence on this but antibiotics can kill much of the bacteria in the gut, both beneficial and potentially harmful. The body rebuilds the gut bacteria once the antibiotics stop, probiotics increase the chances that the beneficial bacteria are recolonised and thus protects the body from harmful bacteria.

And yes, three months after you finish the antibiotics.

Officialytheunofficial- hi, im sorry to hear about your sisters child that past away:( its such a sad thing and that must have been heartbreaking. Yes i heard it can come and go and my midwife told me that when my waters went that is how the infection caused but i thought that if i already had strep b that is what caused it but then she said its only when the waters go thats when an infection happens. Having strep b doesn't cause the waters to break right? Xx

I'm not sure, honestly worth a call to GBSS they are the experts and can answer those questions for you. I was terrified when I found out I had it as it was after my Dsis lost her baby, but the GBSS helpline was really reassuring, gave me stickers to highlight on my notes to every midwife I was a carrier and I knew exactly how to manage it post labour. Xx