GBS cant have water birth :-(

[clarebear1]

Midwife said i cant have one because ill be having antibiotics but im sure ive red somewhere its fine.

Anyone had one being Group B positive?

I had a home water birth with GBS. I had the IV antibiotics into my hand before I got into the water.

It really shouldn;t be a problem.

Hi Clare, you can have a waterbirth with GBS, the IV's are given in your hand and can be running while you are in the water. However, I doubt the community midwives will give them. So hospital water birth most likely. X

same here home birth in bath with GBS and iv abs fine at home, my GP prescribed them for the community midwives to give me at home!

I recently went to a talk by a couple who had a home waterbirth where the woman knew she was GBS positive. They opted for no antibiotics, but had a carefully-thought-out birth plan which included transferring to hospital if she hadn't delivered within 18 hours of her waters breaking. Midwives were happy to support and monitor the baby after the birth. All went well.
It's really worth looking into everything as thoroughly as you can, examining studies on the subject and asking as many questions as you can. Don't always assume that the official line on any obstetric subject will be relevant to your particular situation.
Best of luck to you.

Thanks, i did think i could have one, maybe shes just trying to put me off because its too much hassle for them. Ill have words with another midwife.

Hi everybody,

I am a senior midwife working in a birth centre and can tell you that the management of GBS is getting more relaxed than a few years ago. around 30% of the population carries GBS.
As women in the UK are not normally screened for GBS routinely in pregnancy, the vast majority of women who carry GBS during pregnancy and birth will never know about it,
Women who are 'GBS carriers' will result positive via a swab on and off, which means that the swab could be negative and positive at different points in time. There is a big difference if the GBS is in the birth canal or in the urine. If it is in the urine it means the GBS is present in high concentrations and antibiotics as well as birth in hospital are recommended. On the other hand if a woman is GBS positive at some point in pregnancy (from the swab) or she is known to be a carrier from previous pregnancies, but does not have any extra risk such as: ruptured the waters >24 hrs, fever, preterm birth or smelly liquor, had a previous baby infected by GBS, the new guidelines do not 'strongly recommend' IV antibiotics, in the sense that we are supposed to offer it but if the woman prefers not to have them she can still give birth at the birth centre and in water as there is no need to continuously monitor baby's heartbeat.

Ultimately is always your decision. You have to balance pros and cons of each option and decide what is the right thing for you.

There are some particularly good websites you could look at:

www.homebirth.org.uk/gbs.htm#2

www.rcog.org.uk/womens-health/clinical-guidance/preventing-group-b-streptococcus-gbs-infection-newborn-babies#reduce

Best wishes

Lucia