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

I had GBS, also found when I had a UTI. I was induced so plenty of time for the IV antibiotics in my case. As others have said, they know about it so can make sure your care takes it into account.

We were monitored very closely following the birth. I showed some signs of infection so we were both treated with antibiotics for two days - in the end, I didn't have an infection and baby was fine too. But the important thing was that it was monitored. I'm very confident that they would have spotted the signs immediately.

Also, try to remember that a positive test earlier in pregnancy doesn't mean you will have it at birth. It comes and goes. As a PP said, you'll hear far more negative stories because for most people it's all absolutely fine.

I was discovered to have it just after I'd had a really long labour (tests had come back from a swab they did in hospital when the midwife sent me over the day before I went into labour). They just took DD over to the baby unit twice a day to administer meds to be on the safe side and brought her straight back. She was completely fine. Your situation is so much better than mine was and everything worked out totally OK for me. I know it's easier said than done but try not to worry

I've had two GBS pregnancies, both absolutely fine. It came to light with a UTI same as OP.

With DS I was induced and had IV antibiotics the required 4 hours before birth. We were kept in 48 hours for regular temperature monitoring to make sure there was no infection present. He was perfectly healthy.

With DD I didn't get to hospital in time as my labour progressed very quickly. There was only 1.5 hours in between antibiotics and birth. No problems at all though, we were kept in for 48 hours again for monitoring for signs of infection but she was absolutely fine.

Yes. Labour from start to finish was only 90 mins so no chance of 4 hours worth of antibiotics.

I had group B strep and was on an antibiotic drip during labour, DD was fine.

Please don't worry. I had group b strep and panicking. Very fast birth and first baby laods of issues, all with me and not strep related due to bad tares. Baby was happy n healthy, no time for a drip or anything. He was on observations for 24hrs but he was completely fine.
Relax. The doctors know what they are doing.

Thanks everyone , this is exactly what I needed to hear. Feeling better than I did at 4am.

It’s a good point that the most horrific stories tend to be documented online whilst large volumes of “everything was fine” cases are not posted about x

So ... answered the door today and it was a delivery driver from the local pharmacy dropping off another weeks worth of amoxicillin. They must have sent my most recent urine sample off to lab at last MW appointment (I wasn’t told) , haven’t heard anything , antibiotics arrive on doorstep. Just spoke to Gp on phone and despite the first course of anti-biotics I still have active GBS so need to take more. A bit of a kick in the pants but again it’s good people know about it I guess

I was suspected strep b never had a positive but while in labour I had the anti biotics but because I have fast labours we needed to stay in so DS could have antibiotics too. While they did blood tests to make sure nothing was wrong as soon as blood came back clear we was discharged 30 mins after. It was all precautions as I was presenting with a temperature of 41.

I had/have group b, they put a sticker on my book and told me that if my waters broke to go to the hospital immediately even if I'm not showing any other signs of labour.

I ended up being induced for unrelated reasons, they pumped me full of antibiotics via a drip and everything was fine.

Have you considered requesting being induced so you're not caught out?

@letsdothisagain - I have considered it today yes. Dd1 was born at 38.5 weeks and I’m not sure they’d schedule induction before 39..?. so if I did schedule it I might go into Labour before then anyway. But it’s certainly worth considering x

I’m not sure it would make sense to schedule an induction just because you’re GBS positive. Surely if there’s a risk of infection, it would be safer to give birth at full term when the baby is well and truly “ready”?

Honestly I think you may be overthinking this. I wanted to be cautious as well, and opted for antibiotics early in labour, but my midwives were all for the “passive management” approach and actually gave the option of NOT doing antibiotics pre-emptively and just monitoring my temperature during labour... I figure if medical professionals are ok offering that laissez-faire option, it MUST be because the risks are pretty low.

My sister tested positive for GBS. She was scheduled to have ABs during labour but gave birth 35 minutes after walking through the hospital doors and there was no time to hook her up. Baby was monitored for an extra 48 hours and was/is absolutely fine.

This is in Italy where women are routinely checked for GBS at 35 weeks and again later and they take the risk of infection very seriously.

Thanks both-I am definitely over thinking it. I still have wobbles of terror but this thread is super helpful to read at those moments. I’ve also done a lot of research so I know it’ll be managed well. It’s so important to remember that the horror stories are a)very rare and b)normally when the gbs wasn’t detected or treated in Mum xxx

I am also GBS+. Because I live in the Highlands and the hospital is 100 miles away I am booked in for an induction tomorrow at 38w6d, to ensure I am on the iv antibiotics as soon as possible. A few weeks ago my amniotic fluid was really low so I also have the worry I had premature rupture of membranes and infection could already have got in 😞 but it had gone up week on week since then so they are just not sure. It's hard to be 'excited' about the birth because of the worry of the GBS for my baby, I am happy just now feeling her moving inside me knowing she is safe. I will let you know how I get on with induction, good luck for your own labour when it comes xxx