Group Strep B and Penicillin allergy

[grace11]

I'm planning to have a homebirth and decided to have the private strep B test just to be on the safe side. However, I'm allergic to penicillin - apparently the best antibiotic to treat this and the next choice, Clindamycin, may not work as some strains of strep B are resistant to it. So I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has had this issue and what they did. If I was positive, the standard ECM GBS testing would not say whether I was resistant to Clindamycin or not - so then I'd be faced with potentially taking useless antibiotics. I was told by a lab there is a sensitivity test but it's £120. I know this is quite a niche question but I'm hoping someone out there might know about this... I'll go to my GP next week and see what they would do if I tested positive - but I suspect they would just put me on Clindamycin x

Sorry I have no experience of this. Out of curiosity, what happened when you were diagnosed as allergic to penicillin? It's just my mum was told by my grandma that she was allergic but last year she was really ill and that was the antibiotic she needed. When speaking to the pharmacist, she told her that they used a different form of penicillin in the 60s/70s and many babies/children developed rashes, told there parents they were allergic and then never received the newer varieties. They tried my mum with it and she was fine. Not suggesting that they experiment on you whilst you are pregnant but just food for thought.

Why did you have the test? Are you not having home birth now because they will need to administer antibiotics? As you and medical staff now know you are gbs positive then I think what they may advise (assuming you are in a hospital setting) is that you have the antibiotics that you can have and then they will monitor baby closely (temperature, pulse, respiration rate) for any signs of infection and use a low threshold for giving baby IV antibiotics (usually benzylpenicllin and gentamicin or cefotaxime), looking at infection markers in bloods and doing blood cultures.
They may just ask whether you want your baby to have antibiotics anyway.
I know it must be worrying but please remember that up to 30% of women have this bacteria yet the transmission rate to babies is very low.
And for what it's worth, I don't think I would bother having the sensitivity test, I would just have the IV antibiotics during labour x
Sorry if this has been about as clear as mud! Difficult typing on phone!

This is quite informative.
www.babycentre.co.uk/a1647/group-b-streptococcus-in-pregnancy

When I had penicillin as a child my mouth filled with ulcers and I couldn't eat solids for six weeks. I haven't done the test yet I was just wondering if it was worth me doing it if I can't take the antibiotic of choice and I might be resistant to the alternative. Just wish all pregnant women were tested at 36 weeks and I wouldn't have to try and work this out!

Have you had a read of the GBS section on the homebirth.org site? And the RCOG green top guidelines? Both worth a look.

I'm thinking of having the test just because I'm aware of strep b having come across it on here I think - I wasn't aware of it in my first pregnancy. I think it's better to know for sure if you are or aren't positive really. Maybe it's the fact that I'm planning a homebirth that's making me more anxious about it or something... x

I think I may have read the info on the homebirth website but I'll take a look again - thank you - I couldn't fathom the RCOG website out - my midwife told me to check there but I couldn't find the info

Just googling RCOG green top group b strep brings it up on the first page for me

I've got GBS and I've been told no home birth and to go on drip in hospital. Bit gutted about it but I figure it's the best for the baby and that's the priority at the end of the day. I did enquire about penicillin alternative due to potential allergy and there is an alternative but I've forgotten what it was!

FWIW I was postive at the birth of my first baby, didn't know until long after. I chose not to test and planned a homebirth for my second.

GBS can cause very serious, catastrophic illness and death. But testing is not very reliable and prevention can cause issues too. So it's a personal decision and a case of balancing the risks vs the benefits and what you are comfortable with.

One of the reasons they don't test is because gbs can cone and go throughout pregnancy and widespread antibiotic use would probably just make it resistant to antibs.
Sorry, thought it read like you had taken the test. I personally wouldn't have it. I don't see what difference it makes if you have a hb or hospital birth. They will.monitor you the same and if signs of infection give you the antibs. I am sure this would mean a hospital transfer if at home.
Sorry I couldn't be more help! Good luck with everything x

No you've been really helpful, thank you, thanks everyone, I'll get some more info and have a think. It's not straightforward and I know if I test positive I have to go to hospital. I'm not happy about taking loads of antibiotics that might do nothing either. I'll see what the gp has to say too. I'm 35 weeks soon so not much time left to decide xx

Hello op, I tested positive for gbs in my first pregnancy and I'm allergic to penicillin. I ended up being induced with Dc1 and they hooked me up to antibiotics after my waters had broken.

I know they didn't use penicillin abut what ever they did use worked fine for us.