TERRIFIED - group b strep

[Shazafied]

Hi all,

I’m lying awake for the umpteenth night in a row, anxious as hell bout my impending birth and group b strep. I’ve decided not to google it anymore (but I’m a way I’m glad I did as my MW has been so blasé about it and gave me so little info).

I’m beside myself with worry that my unborn DD2 will get ill / die because of group b strep. I have read several MN threads full of horror stories.

I have a 16mo to look after and the stress / lack of sleep from this is making that even harder than usual.

I’m 37 weeks and at 34 weeks had a uti, results came back that I had active group b strep at that time. Labour started with DD1 at 38+3 so it could be fairly soon and I feel like a truck is driving towards me, I am carrying a horrible illness that is going to harm my child. I’ve read countless stories about still birth with gbs too, as it can enter the amniotic sac (ascending infection) before labour.

I know that it’s good I know about it and when labour starts I will insist on IV ab’s immediately. I hope I can get there soon enough - the last two days I’ve had murmuring/mild period pains but they’ve just died off again. This is how my labour with DD1 started ... but I didn’t have active strep then / didn’t know about it. When I’ve had the cramps I’ve started to panic that this is a sign of ascending infection.

I also suffered significant prolapsing after DD1 birth (which was very long, she was op, epidural and lay on back, obstructed pushing for 2.5 hours etc) and this has worsened in late pregnancy, I’ve been told I can have a c section due to this, but it also appeals as it would reduce the strep risk to baby - if would not eliminate the risk though and I’d have to recover from a section with a 16mo and newborn, without much in the way of help. Also they won’t schedule section till 39 weeks and labour might have started by then / waters broken by which ping baby is exposed to strep anyway.

I’m an anxious person anyway but this group b strep is tipping me over the edge. If there was anyway to just get this baby out now, while she is still moving and well, I’d take it.

I’ve seen a doctor about this last week (well, I saw her in MAU when I had a sudden very bad prolapse) - She was lovely but didn’t seem concerned about the strep, still said she thought natural delivery best option but that I would no fight for a section (due to prolapsing).

Has anyone any positive strep stories to tell me? I’m just so terrified of losing this baby.

Thanks

Obstructed pushing = instructed pushing

No personal experience, but it is very rare for group B strep to cause infection in a newborn, especially when they know you carry it. Were you given antibiotics for your UTI?

The antibiotics they give in labour are good and they will do more checks on your baby once its born to spot any problems too.

Thanks so much for replying , especially at this mad hour ! Yes I got amoxicillin for 7 days which I finished around a week ago.

Does anyone know if they will swab / test the baby or just observe ? I’d prefer her to be swabbed at least, I really don’t want to take any chances at all.

I had it with my last labour, six months ago. They gave me IV antibiotics and observed baby after. No one was concerned, except me, and all was fine. Try to get some rest

I'm up trying to settle 7 month old DS!

The lab will have tested the bacteria to make sure that amoxicillin will work against it, so that course should help too. I work in a lab and we'd handle group b Strep frequently. It really is a tiny risk abd tge medical team will be very well versed in the symptoms etc. Good luck with your new arrival!!

Midwife here: it’s really not a bi deal. The babies who get ill tend to be the ones where it wasn’t picked up.

Thank you all. Yes I’m so glad I know about it, I suppose I’m lucky in that regard. I really do need to stop driving myself into exhaustion with worry. Moofeatures do you see GBS a lot ? Having trouble finding out what the routine postnatal observations / checks for baby will be- does it vary trust to trust?

Thank you all for helping me out , @chebby I hope your baby settles soon! Xxx

@midnight glad to hear all was well with you and Baby. How did you find the iv? Was there plenty of time to administer the drugs in your labour ? I’m aware that as this is my second it could be quicker (that’s not saying much though, as my first labour went on for days). X

I'm up feeding 12 week old DD and I had group. b strep. I was a bit worried beforehand but was given IV antibiotics during labour which I didn't notice with everything else going on. Had a quick labour - 6 hours, and all was fine. No one seemed concerned about it. The main thing is you know. Try not to worry too much and good luck with the birth.

I was GBS pos during my first pregnancy. DD is now nearly 2! Like you, I was worried, but my midwives (in Canada) were very open and reassuring, and gave me the following info:

• GBS is extremely common. Anywhere from 5-10% of women can test positive for it at any given point, apparently

• Risk of the bacteria reaching the baby in utero is extremely low unless your waters have been broken for more than 24 hours. If your waters break early, typically they’ll then try to make sure your labour moves along quickly, but you’ve still got many hours to play with

• The IV antibiotics are virtually fool proof as long as you receive them for more than 4 hours before the baby is born

• ...even failing ALL that, the risk of infection is low. IF a baby is going to get seriously sick, most will begin to display symptoms within the first 24 hours, so the baby should be monitored closely then. Worst case scenario, the baby can then be treated. But my midwife had been in practice for 20 years and had never experienced any great GBS drama.

Deep breaths. If your waters break, get yourself to the hospital. As you say, advocate for the antibiotics early. But I was very clearly told this isn’t something to worry about in the modem age. Of course on the Internet, out of millions and millions of people, there will be examples of tragedy. But that’s true for literally anything, unfortunately. It doesn’t mean the risk is high for you and your baby.

Good luck over the next few weeks! :-)

@uptomyelbows thank you so so so much . That makes seriously reassuring reading. I’m glad I posted here. I’ll be reading the responses to “talk myself down” over the coming days / weeks. I love MN for middle of the night moral support

I'm a midwife too and hope I can reduce your fears. It is very common to test positive for GBS and rare for your baby to get sick from it if you have intravenous antibiotics in labour.
As already stated above by a midwife it is usually the babies of mothers that don't have the antibiotics that get sick, but even most of those will be fine and we monitor the babies carefully either way so are quick to pick up on anything amiss.
The protocol where I am is hourly observations on the baby for the first 24 hours. Warning signs of infection in your baby won't be ignored I promise.
I hope you can relax a little and get some much needed sleep :)

I had it and with all three of mine hooked up to antibiotics. I'm allergic to penicillin so not sure what they gave me. Then they just kept us in for 2 days to observe the baby.

Also to ease your mind, it is worth noting that the mothers of babies that have gotten sick are the ones who will have their stories online. The millions of other women will have forgotten they ever even had it.
Big hugs and hoping you get some much needed rest.

I had GBS, I had positive test at 36 weeks. My waters went at home so I went straight in and was put on an IV drip of antibiotics. This was replaced continually throughout my entire labour and we stayed in for 24 hours after birth so DS could be monitored. It was absolutely fine. Meant I couldn't really have a water birth or move around freely but that's a small price to pay. I was quite anxious about it but it went smoothly and I made sure everyone involved knew i had it. I considered a csec, but with the antibiotics I felt a VD was better for both of us.

i had gbs and all was fine my ds is now 8.

Me too, gbs, iv antibiotics, all fine.
Just to add to the excellent information- in the tiny tiny chance baby does get sick, gbs is known about and at first signs can be treated. I think babies can become much sicker when it’s not known about and other things are ruled out first, delaying treatment.
Hang in there- not long til snuggles!!

@shazafied I had to have 9 hours between drips because I'm allergic to the quicker ones and they didn't quite have time to finish the second drip as baby was born! He was absolutely fine. They assured me that even if I had not had time to have any antibiotics in labour they could still treat baby post natally. They observed baby for 12 hours after by checking temp and breaths. I would suggest you ask your midwife to map out the different contingencies so that you feel reassured. I was very anxious about it right up until labour because everyone else was so casual! I now know its because its so routine for them and it's extremely unlikely that something can go wrong, and I wish I had just allowed them to worry about it for me.

I was tested positive for group strep B. As soon as I had my first sign of labour I headed straight to the hospital. My DD was born 15 mins later so no time for antibiotics. They monitored her for 24 hours and all was good.

I had group b strep but went into Labour early and twins were born very quickly before they could get the antibiotic drip up.
Both babies got IV antibiotics when they were born but they were still able to stay with me rather than in the NICU. They were completely fine.

Thank you so much.

@mummyitsallaboutyou - did you go in at first contraction ? X

@midnight - . I would suggest you ask your midwife to map out the different contingencies so that you feel reassured.

I will do this thank you x

my kids are 19 and 16 and i tested positive with both of them.
baby number one i had some oral antibiotics before i went into labour but no iv antibiotics. he was fine.
baby number 2 i had one dose of iv antibiotics in labour-he was also fine.

I had gbs with my first, it was discovered during labour. DS1 was fine. Please try not to worry