here's a question that someone else has probably already asked!!!! (sorry)

[TombleyBoo]

when pregnant with DS i was always having water infections etc and at one point they said i had strepB which before i said anything they were already reading my mind and answering the unasked question of it is serious etc, they said no its ok just need to give you antibiotics before your waters break etc, (my waters went at home so i had it in labour)
it was a bad pregnany overall and strep B was ok as long as they kept an eye on the baby (cos its passed on to babies when your in labour) (i think) the main concern was if he had CF (he was a happy and and healthy 8lb8oz boy) and he didnt so that was that.

im hopefully pregnant again, (been ttc for 1month and im not on!!) and i been thinking about the strep B it sounds like a horrible sti/std and i feel ashamed of myself for having it with ds but apparently it doesnt occur in every pregnancy. im too scared to start looking it up because i know i ll stress myself out and worry and no doubt start to think the worst. (im a very over emotional person lol)

just wondering if anyone has had/got it and whether it does/doesnt occur in every pregnancy etc. i know i should have looked more into it with DS and i prob sound like a really bad mother for not doing so.

thanx anyways.
tombleyboo x x x

There is a very informative website about GBS

www.gbss.org.uk/

I don't know much about it either but I do know that it isn't an STD or anything to be ashamed of. Strep B is a bacteria that lives in most peoples throats and other places and which cause all sorts of health problems sometimes. Its a problem in pregnancy because it can affect the baby in the birth canal but as you know it isn't a problem so long as they know you have it and give you antibiotics. There isn't any reason to worry about your having it this time.

thanks so much i just been reading it on the link from beautifulgirls and its very informative but also quite scary!!!

i found out that i'm a group b strep carrier after the birth of my first son. they kept him in to have antibotics for 5 days and he's fine. i was told i'll always have it so would need antibotics for an hour before i gave birth to my next son but has to be given through labour. this wasn't possible due to a quick birth(2.5 hours start to finish and didn't get to hospital till 45 mins before birth as had to get parents down to look after ds1!!). we stayed in hospital for just under a week whle they gave him antibotics but while there he had other complications and thats another story!!! i was told it's nothing to really worry about and about 1 in 3 womwn suffer from it

when i had ds i was kept in 72hrs!

Don't worry! It is a perfectly normal bacteria which some women carry and some don't but the main thing is to identify if you are carrying it because, as you have rightly identified, it can have grave consequences for the baby such as CF or even death. Surely the important thing is identifying it and taking appropriate precautions. And knowing what your courses of action are nearer your due date so you are fully prepared for the course of events likely to happen to you? IMO not enough people know about the risk and some hospitals gamble on it by not giving the labouring mother antibiotics with devastating effects.

It is not a std so please don't feel bad on that score. About 25-30% of women have it. you can get it from swimming pools etc.

I was tested for it in last preg because had DS in Belgium and they test everyone. so was on antibiotics during labour. This time I'm preg again, am in Holland and their policy (same as the UK) is not to test automatically, even if you've been strep pos in last pregnancy. I am planning a homebirth and won't be having antibiotics. I've read up on it a lot and decided not to insist on a test because the risk to the baby is very very tiny, and there is a risk involved in giving antibiotics to mothers who have strep b, including that it's not great for newborns to get antibiotics unnecessarily (that's why in the UK they don't test all mothers, because it would mean giving 30% of women in labour antibiotics).

I would read up on it as much as you can and make your own decision, but certainly don't feel any guilt about having this perfectly normal bacteria..