GBS+

[SeaChellsRun]

You can find Hibiclens at CVS in the medical section. I bought it about 6months ago and it was $10. My mw rec'd putting in a peribottle but couldn't find one so I use a spray bottle and dilute it

[TPLmommy]

You can load up on garlic & plain yogurt/kefir/probiotics. I'd avoid antibiotics at all costs. Like PP said, they wreak havoc on your (& your baby's) digestive system & leaves baby susceptible to many other deceases because they kill the good bacteria along with the bad.

My MW has done tons of research & presentations to other MWs, etc. on it & recommends preventive care (probiotics, etc) & if you still end up positive, use the hibicleanse. She also just told me today that land births have a 300% more chance than water births of spreading GPS to baby. So having a water birth can help too!

HTH!

[lovebabies]

I was GBS+ with my first, but by the time I or to the birth center I was completely dilated, and my water hadn't broken yet, so the midwife left the antibiotics up to me, and I declined because I couldn't imagine being able to be still for 5 min while they had the butterfly needle in my arm. My baby was just fine with no complications at all. With the second one I declined the test, and he was born at home in the tub within an hour of my water breaking. Again, no problems. I'm pretty sure I'm going to decline the test again this time, but am working on boosting my good flora anyway (taking probiotics, eating cultured foods, etc.). If I do take the test and end up + for some reason, I won't do the antibiotics for all the reasons everyone mentioned.

[SeaChellsRun]

Originally Posted by TPLmommy My MW has done tons of research & presentations to other MWs, etc. on it & recommends preventive care (probiotics, etc) & if you still end up positive, use the hibicleanse. She also just told me today that land births have a 300% more chance than water births of spreading GPS to baby. So having a water birth can help too! HTH!

I'd love to know where she got that info because everywhere I've read says either there's no difference and some mamas are refused a waterbirth because of the risk of spreading the GBS.


UPDATE: This site shows 305% difference so assuming this is where she's getting the info...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21322437

Midwifery Today Int Midwife. 2010-2011 Winter;(96):9-10.
Waterbirth and GBS.
Cohain JS.
Abstract

The literature provides a single case of early onset newborn Group B Strep (GBS) among 4432 waterbirths, suggesting that low-risk women who give birth in water may have a far lower rate of newborn GBS than women who have a dry birth. The last reported rate of newborn GBS for dry births was 1 in 1450. Several theories for this phenomenon are suggested in this article: (1) inoculating the baby with mother's intestinal flora at birth protects against GBS infection; (2) water washes off the GBS bacteria acquired during the descent through the vagina; (3) the water dilutes the GBS bacteria and mixes it with a multitude of other intestinal bacteria that compete with GBS; (4) early onset GBS is elicited by complications and interventions at birth, which occur less often at water-births; (5) kangaroo care at birth promotes healthy newborns; (6) GBS and antibiotic-resistant GBS are more prevalent in hospital environments, where waterbirths are not an option; (7) a higher rate of underreporting of adverse events at waterbirths compared to dry births; and/or (8) a massively successful international campaign has covered up the reporting of all deaths and disease from GBS after waterbirths.

[moonlightblonde]

I'm going to have to get some hibiclens - hopefully I can find it here - we don't have a cvs - and probiotics =) Thanks ladies (bah I wish we had money this week so I could start asap..will have to wait one more week, when we both get paid..unfortunately we need groceries this weekend).

I will probably be having a water birth so that is good to read - my midwife comes with one, all I need is a liner =)

[mom1mg]

I don't think my advice will help the OP very much but it might help someone else who reads this thread

I'm NOT crunchy with medical related things so PLEASE take my advice for what it is...

I've been GBS positive my last two pregnancies and I was told with the next baby even if it is negative they will still treat me because of my history. I'm not actually sure if they are going to bother testing me or not since they are treating me as a positive anyway. I guess the bacteria is so quick to come on that they take a VERY cautious approach here - I've been told you can go from a negative to a positive in a matter of a couple days.

Personally I don't mind the intervention AT ALL - since GBS is a BAD, bad thing for a baby to catch.

Here the rule is 2 doses within 4 hours of birth. With my first GBS positive baby my labour was too fast so I only got one dose. We had to stay for extra monitoring but he was fine. I was told that super fast labours actually put baby at less of a risk because they have less time to be exposed.

With my second GBS positive baby I got both doses in - went in SUPER early labour to the hospital so I would have time - and she had no issues (well no GBS issues anyway - she has other issues not related to GBS).

I may or may not have been positive with my first son also - I went into early then expected labour and was never tested so again they treated me as a positive.

You can still have the freedom to move around. The IV is pretty quick and you can ask for a lock so you can be detached from the pole so you can still labour in water etc.

[Meag1023]

Pp have already pretty much said what I will say but I'll repeat. I personally will be declining the gbs test but will take preventative measures before labor and during. I will do the hibacleanse during labor and I will take a combination of echinacea, probiotics, grapefruit seed extract, garlic and vitamin C twice a day starting at 35 weeks preggo. This is recommended via my midwife, my mom (midwife assistant) and another midwife. Research on the hibacleanse shows the same immunity as the antibiotics and better immunity against e coli bacteria :-). There's always alternatives out there and if I can avoid needles I always will!

[songbird516]

Originally Posted by moonlightblonde They will do antibiotics at home, just afraid it wouldn't be enough time for them to actually do anything. It is recommended to get at least two doses and a space of 2hrs after the 2nd dose - that would be longer than my first labor from first cramp/sick feeling to birth.

In all honesty, if your labors are that fast, your chances of transmitting GBS to your baby are pretty small. Eating a diet high in probiotics and low in sugar can help to minimize the GBS colonization, also. I've also read that grapeseed extract can be good for reducing colonization (in addition to garlic). Otherwise, you can choose to not get antibiotics and observe the baby for signs of infection. I probably would not get antibiotics even if I tested positive, because of all of the side effects of antibiotics on the immune system/gut flora.

[McMandy]

I have had three babies without antibiotics for GBS, all were fine! Probiotics are great, and I second grape seed extract! My prenatals have probiotics in them, and I take extra.

[jeebee]

With my first two i was tested GBS+. I got the abx but both labours were too short (5 and 6 hours, less than 4 hours in the hospital both times), so they still considered us to be higher risk since I only got the initial dose. Honestly, my waters only broke when pushing, so I was not too worried, usually that increases your risk a lot if they are broken for a long amount of time since there is more exposure, or the other risk factors that a pp mentioned.

Here in Australia I don't even think it is standard to test for GBS. I had a homebirth anyway and decided that I would just act as though I am GBS+ and not bother to test. I had a 2 hour labour anyway (total), so it would have made zero difference, I would never have gotten the treatment. Plus I just totally forgot to do the hibiclens in labour, it all happened too fast, by the time i realised i was in labour i didn't have the time to think. Everything was completely fine, but we did keep an eye on the baby's temperature very closely for the next couple of days.

ETA: yep I took probiotics in the leadup to #2 and #3.