Strep B in pregnancy???

[nannyjo]

I saw my consultant today. She told me i tested positive for strep B in 2005 in a routine swab but negative in 2007?

I've had a baby in between those years and knew nothing of it. Now i'm pregnant again they want to test me for it again at 35 weeks as if it is positive then it can have serious consequences for the baby.

I still don't understand why this wasn't mentioned with my earlier baby but is being brought up now?

Has anyone experienced this? Can anyone simplify what it is/means?

TIA

I can't help with why you have had confusing information but I can say that I was found to have strep B during my pregnancy and it was fine. They gave me antibiotics during labour and my dd was fine as it stopped it being passed on to her. It would have shown quickly I believe if it had been passed on to your older child. Hope someone can give you a more concise answer than this!

Group B strep (GBS) is a fairly common bacteria in women, and many women test positive for it (something like one thrid of all women). In a minority of cases, it can be transferred to the newborn baby and can be quite serious.

I tested positive for GBS during my second pregnancy. During labour, I was given intravenous antibiotics (that didn't bother me one bit), to stop the GBS being transferred to my baby.

My baby was fine, no problems at all. Try not to worry.

I'm sure there is a website about GBS during pregnancy, hopefully someone can link you to it!

They don't test for it as a matter of course, but if for some reason they suspect you might have it, they're more likely to test.

However, if they knew in 2005 and didn't bring it up when you were pregnant, they were just being useless. But they are mentioning it now, so get the test and have the antibiotics if necessary. I had them too (I had a test for something else and they tested for strep B at the same time, and it turned out I had it) - It was no problem.

That is the reason they dont test all women routinely,as you dont have it all the time.

I tested pos with Dd and had antibiotics in labour. They need to be administered at least 4 hours before birth though, my labour was only 2 hours, so Dd and I were kept in for observation for a couple of days.

I too had group b in my 2nd pregnancy, got the antibiotics in at 4.45am and little boy born at 8.15am, i was told they like 4 hours, but 2 is fine, stayed in for 24 hours, just because he had meconium!

Thanks everyone.

I'm sure it will all be fine. I'm just glad al was fine with my baby....NHS were really impressive with DS1 but with DS2 there were so many cock ups it was unbelievable, one of which was life threatening to me!!!

It's probaby just knocked my confidence with them now a bit

I found out in 2002 that my Dd1 had GBS while in SCBU in 2000, I had DD2 in 2001. When I was pregnant with Callum I told them and was given drugs when I was admitted in labour

DD1 got nasty ulcery things all over her when she was a few days old and they swabbed her skin and found Strep B, as a result I had to be tested at 35 weeks when pregnant with DD2 - the result was negative.

They don't test everyone as its too expensive for something that doesn't often cause a problem, and the test isn't conclusive as it can come and go.

strep b is a bacteria that lives in every womans vaginal canal, but it is dangerous if passed on through the birth canal to the baby and can cause a form of meningitis.i tested positive for strep b when i was pregnant with my son, they give you antibiotics during labour to kill the bacteria if it is lurking.If your labour is quite fast and they dont have time to administer the full dose to you then they will give it to your baby once she/he is born. this would mean that you would have to stay in for 2 to 3 days, which i had to do

There's a little known line in the Royal College of Obs & Gynae guidelines that says if you were GBS positive in a previous pregnancy and the baby did NOT develop symptoms then you should not be given routine IV ABs and neither should the baby.

Check that, read the RCOG info for patients on their website, and also read up on the GBSS.org website. The most accurate test available can be bought through a link on the GBSS site.

Then decide whether / how you want to deal with it.

I took oral ABs over my expected due date, then agreed to 24 hour observation of the baby after the birth.

From RCOG website:

What can help reduce the risk of GBS?

In some circumstances antibiotics can help to reduce the risk of a baby developing GBS and so you may be offered antibiotics during labour if:

• GBS has been found in your urine in your current pregnancy

• GBS has been found on swabs from your vagina and/or rectum which have been taken for another reason

• you have previously had a baby with GBS infection

• you are at higher risk of passing on GBS to your baby. This may be because:

• you have a high temperature during labour

you go into labour prematurely (prior to 37 completed weeks of pregnancy)

• you give birth more than 18 hours after your waters have broken.

Depending upon your particular circumstance, your healthcare professional will discuss the option of antibiotic treatment during labour.

Penicillin is normally given; if you are allergic to penicillin, you should be offered an appropriate alternative. If your doctor thinks you may have an infection but is not sure of the cause, you should be offered antibiotics that will treat a wide range of infections including GBS.

WHEN ANTIBIOTICS ARE NOT NECESSARY

If you carry GBS in your vagina, you should not need antibiotic treatment:

• if GBS was detected in your vagina in a previous pregnancy and the baby was not affected

• during pregnancy, unless you have a symptomatic infection (for example, a urine infection) though you may require antibiotics in labour.

• if you have a planned caesarean section before you go into labour and before your waters break.

The reason why antibiotics are not usually needed in these situations is that the risk of your baby becoming infected with GBS is so low and because antibiotics do not reduce your chances of carrying GBS at the time of the birth

thanks everyone. They're gonna test me at 35 weeks so i'll knowmore then. Hopefully the test is negative and no more needs to be done

What actually is strep b? because I've had bacterial vaginosis in the past from using perfumed soaps that altered the bacteria balance. I got told that this never really goes away, the symptoms just go when they're treated. Does that mean that I'm a high risk of strep B?

mumblsemummy- I don't know if there are any specific 'risk factors' for strep B as it is so common amoungst women.

It is usually harmless, but in very rare cases can be passed to the baby during childbirth, and can cause illness in the baby. That is rare though.

I think strep B is just one of those bugs that lots of us carry and don't need to know about most of the time.

In case you don't already know, the charity Group B Strep Support www.gbss.org.uk wants information about strep B to be given routinely to women antenatally, and for a reliable test to be offered to all pregnant women late in pregnancy, as the result of the reliable test would be a good indicator of whether they'll be carrying strep B at delivery or not.

If you haven't already (and you agree with this!) please sign the petition at petitions.pm.gov.uk/groupbstrep/ - it closes for new signatures on Saturday, 19th January 2008 so there's not much time left!

I have!

I had this and was given the antibiotics intravenously during labour... Is it possible to request another test in subsequent pregnancies? Even if I had to pay for it? Sorry for hijack, was just wondering... nannyjo, you'll be fine as they have picked up on it already for you x

candyland thanks for the link, I've signed it. I def believe women should be routinely tested late in pg, like in other countries.

I think you can ask to be tested in subsequent pregnancies Mymeems, but the problem is that the test most hospitals use gives loads of false negatives.

I'm sure the private labs are more than happy to test as many times as you like ! There are two listed on Group B Strep Support's website.

I just signed it too. It's mad. The only reason I found out I carried group B strep was a series of catastrophic events that led to my first child being taken to NICU as soon as he was born with respiratory distress. 5 days later he was stable enough to hold, he had been tube fed and we began to breastfeed, but because he was never given the opportunity early on it took 8 weeks for him to learn to latch on. He spent his first year with coughs and colds, bronchiolitis and asthma as a result of his crappy start. And I obviously wound up with PND. And we're the lucky ones. He's fine now. With DS2 it was known so we had antibiotics during elective c-section so no risk. So stupid that they didn't test in first pregnancy. I know that the test may have been negative at the time, but just maybe it might have been positive and saved us from all the shit and risk of losing our PFB. I would ignore the test that they plan to do nearer your due date, you are a carrier and the risk is there.