GBS help!

[Josie123]

Hi
I am 9 weeks pregnant with #2 and wondered if anyone out there could help me understand something about Group B Strep?

My waters broke at 26+4 last pregnancy and I had my son at 27 weeks. Thankfully after an eventful few months he was absolutely fine and is now almost 6 and in perfect health.

We decided to have another but only now I am pregnant and having a look on the internet at GBS am I panicking!

I had GBS when I gave birth to my son and on a couple of vaginal swabs I have had done in the last couple of years (because of thrush) it has shown up on them too.

All the info I can find goes on about how I need to be screened at 35-37 weeks and have antibiotics in labour but I am more worried about GETTING to 35 weeks!! It says that GBS can cause pre-term labour but nothing about how you can prevent it!

So am I destined to worry for the rest of the pregnancy (have convinced myself now that my waters will go before viability and I won't be as lucky as with my son).

I am seeing the midwife for the first time this week and think I am being referred to a consultant because of my previous pre-term birth but if all they can say is wait and see I don't know if I can go on like that. Starting to regret being brave and having another go at pregnancy!!

Thank you

Hi there i had gbs with all 4 of my babies and i was given antibiotics during my labour through a drip. But what you can do if you are worried is when you get to 25 weeks ask your GP to do a swab and put you on antibiotics as a precaution. My GP did this for me when i got to 39 weeks with my 3rd as i was really stressing about it. My 4th i was induced and put on the antibiotics right away. I would go and speak to your Gp and tell him or her your concern and speak to your midwife and consultant about it. You shouldn't need to worry about this, as long as you get the right care which i know can be difficult. There is nothing you can do to stop or prevent this and so many women suffer from it without even knowing and go on to have healthy babies. I hope this is of some help and if you want to talk more then please do.

Hi there

I can share your feeling of panic and instant urge to scour the internet for information - my main advice on this front would be don't - you will scare yourself further!

I am now 32 weeks with DC3 and GBS was found in urine at 28 weeks. Nothing had been detected with either previous baby. I was put on oral antibiotics and latest urine and vaginal swab were clear. The GPs I spoke to weren't terribly helpful but I saw a straight talking midwife on Friday who was great and laid the facts out for me as follows:

• better to know that you are carrying GBS - 1 in 4 women are but most don't know

• I will not be retested for GBS as it can come and go

• I will have a hospital birth - was planning this anyway

• I will have intraveinous antibiotics during labour and delivery

• For this reason I will be in the area where doctors are, rather than midwife only unit I would otherwise have gone to

• If I do not receive sufficient antibiotics during labour (previous labours have been v. quick), the baby will be given i/v antibiotics

• baby will be monitored post birth so may need to stay in hospital slightly longer than normal. Most common complication if GBS passes to newborn is pneumonia

I'm now taking the view that it is better to have the knowledge and deal with the risks appropriately. There are plenty of sad stories out there but have to be positive and prepared for what to do when labour starts. I would say the best thing to do is speak to midwife / consultant about your particular case rather than pre-empting based on other people's experiences.

Good luck!

Popilol - I totally agree. I was tested for GBS fairly early on (my hospital, rather wonderfully, seem to be very up on these things) and while I freaked out to begin with, am now very glad I know. Imagine not knowing and having that to add to the plethora of unknown entities that you'll have to face in childbirth anyway!
This is a great website if you're feeling fretful, though I would stick to others' advice and not scour the internet. As long as your midwife and/or doctor are happy with how you're progressing, you should be too.