Group B Strep?

[berrypicking]

Today at my 28 week midwife appointment I had some results back that told me I had GBS. I will have to have antibiotics during labour and of its a really quick labour then baby will have to have the antibiotics when he is born, which I am obviously fine with. I still feel I don't know much about GBS though and wondered if anyone else on here has had it and what their experience was.
How long did you have to stay in hospital with baby after birth? I have been told I am not showing strong levels of it so that's good but still so nervous. I don't want any harm to come to my baby.

midwife said the baby won't be affected during pregnancy so at least that's good news.

I had a positive GBS test from urine early in my pregnancy (I am now 32 weeks). I did my birth plan last week and my midwife advised that if the baby gets 4hours of antibiotics pre-birth then I will be treated as normal in terms of how long I stay in. If the birth is quick and they get less than 4hours before birth then we might have to stay in for a little longer while the baby gets antibiotics and is monitored.

She also advised that I phone the labour ward as soon as my waters break (even if contractions etc. haven't started) as they may want to start me on antibiotics straight away. I think the baby loses protection once the waters go. She did say that I could still have a water birth etc. I won't be constantly hooked up to an IV but will have a cannula in my hand and they will dose me once an hour.

I'd just say, make sure you discuss it when you do your birth plan.

gbss.org.uk/what-is-gbs/about-gbs/gbs-prevention/ this website has a large amount of information that I found very useful. Do look through the website, it has plenty of information.

My experience was in my third pregnancy I had confirmed GBS, but the labour was so fast it was an unplanned homebirth, afterwards midwife rang hospital, they said that since baby looked healthy on birth, that the risk of picking up a hospital borne infection was greater than monitoring closely at home for 48 hours. We were lucky, but were ready to rush to hospital if needed as per guidelines.

Boatrace30 - If you have a fast labour, the recommendation from the above website is that :
Babies born at increased/high risk to Mums who HAVE NOT received antibiotics for more than 2 hours before delivery should be:
Examined thoroughly and investigated by a Paediatrician as appropriate.
Observed for a minimum of 12 hours, ideally 24 hours.
If completely healthy, no antibiotics for the baby are required.
The risk to the baby is while in the vaginal canal, so the less time there, the less risk to being infected I was told. Giving antibiotics automatically to an otherwise healthy baby is not considered best practice, unless other risk factors are present.

Hi Berry

I did a private test via Lloyds pharmacy at 36 weeks with DD as it's not routinely offered with the ante-natal care where I am. the test came back positive so I told my MW. She offered the same intravenous antibiotics whilst in labour, as it happened I got two lots in as my labour was long!

Babies are not at risk to catching it until the waters break which is why they advise you to go in if they break or as soon as your 3cm dilated so they can get the antibiotics in.

Now not all babies will catch it even if you've got it however, I don't mean to give a scare story here but despite the double antibiotics my DD still caught it. Because the hospital were aware of it they watched her closely once she was born and within hours they realized she had it and put her on antibiotics too. It wasn't the most pleasant experience as she was in the SCBU but at least she was ok and being treated. We stayed in hospital for 5 days as she needed at least 10 doses of antibiotics but after the second day her temp was down and she is TOTALLY FINE. the hospital and staff were awesome.

As long as the hospital and midwives are aware they will take the greatest care so please do not worry just make sure everyone knows the score.

All the best x

Had it diagnosed in pg from a uti. I had two does on antibiotics in labour, four hours apart. My dcs was monitored in hospital for 24 hrs and then allowed home as showed no signs.

Should say two doses!

thank you that has reassured me somewhat. I actually hope my labour isn't too short so I can get all the antibiotics. I will write up my birth plan soon and make sure I make it clear that I had a positive for GBS. Still quite nervous but feeling better about it than I did.