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#1
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Ques about Group B Strep
Well, I just tested positive for group B strep. I'm 30 weeks along
right now. I've done some poking around the internet and am trying not to get too worried about it, but this is what I've found so far that I should do/pay attention to: * Avoid getting my membranes stripped (which my midwives do tend to do, but I won't have it done this time!) * Avoid the fetal scalp monitoring unless absolutely necessary and if possible after a couple of hours of antibiotics * As few cervical checks as possible (less than 4 - 6) * No arom None of those should be a problem based on my last couple of births, however, I'm a little worried about getting in the antiobiotics. It's supposed to be two doses, 4 hours apart. Well, with my last labor, contractions started mildly in the evening, then pretty much stopped during the night except for one big contraction at 3AM. When I got up at 6AM, contractions started again. I expected 3-4 hours of labor at least based on baby #1. At 7:30 AM I left for the hospital and had ds at 9:30. So supposing I went into the hospital when labor really started (6AM), that's still only 3.5 hours - not enough time for two doses of antibiotics (not to mention the 45 min. drive to the hospital). That has me somewhat worried, but I guess I can't do anything about that - I'll get there as soon as I can. Is there anything I can/should do to try to get rid of the strep b? I've seen a few things on the net about natural things I can do including propolus capsules, echinacea root, garlic, etc, but at this point haven't discussed anything with the midwife or even looked into it at all. Has anyone done anything to try to clear it up prior to birth? Thanks for any info/experiences! |
#2
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Ques about Group B Strep
This is a concern for me too, as my son tested positive for strep B, but
interestingly about a day post-partum I tested neg. Not to scare you, but he was stillborn (they don't think because of the strep). Sorry to piggyback on your post, but I wondered how common it is to actually test _neg_ for strep B and have it show up in the baby. Does anyone know? Thanks for that info. "KD" wrote in message ... Well, I just tested positive for group B strep. I'm 30 weeks along right now. I've done some poking around the internet and am trying not to get too worried about it, but this is what I've found so far that I should do/pay attention to: * Avoid getting my membranes stripped (which my midwives do tend to do, but I won't have it done this time!) * Avoid the fetal scalp monitoring unless absolutely necessary and if possible after a couple of hours of antibiotics * As few cervical checks as possible (less than 4 - 6) * No arom None of those should be a problem based on my last couple of births, however, I'm a little worried about getting in the antiobiotics. It's supposed to be two doses, 4 hours apart. Well, with my last labor, contractions started mildly in the evening, then pretty much stopped during the night except for one big contraction at 3AM. When I got up at 6AM, contractions started again. I expected 3-4 hours of labor at least based on baby #1. At 7:30 AM I left for the hospital and had ds at 9:30. So supposing I went into the hospital when labor really started (6AM), that's still only 3.5 hours - not enough time for two doses of antibiotics (not to mention the 45 min. drive to the hospital). That has me somewhat worried, but I guess I can't do anything about that - I'll get there as soon as I can. Is there anything I can/should do to try to get rid of the strep b? I've seen a few things on the net about natural things I can do including propolus capsules, echinacea root, garlic, etc, but at this point haven't discussed anything with the midwife or even looked into it at all. Has anyone done anything to try to clear it up prior to birth? Thanks for any info/experiences! |
#3
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Ques about Group B Strep
"KD" wrote in message ... Well, I just tested positive for group B strep. I'm 30 weeks along right now. I've done some poking around the internet and am trying not to get too worried about it, but this is what I've found so far that I should do/pay attention to: * Avoid getting my membranes stripped (which my midwives do tend to do, but I won't have it done this time!) * Avoid the fetal scalp monitoring unless absolutely necessary and if possible after a couple of hours of antibiotics * As few cervical checks as possible (less than 4 - 6) * No arom None of those should be a problem based on my last couple of births, however, I'm a little worried about getting in the antiobiotics. It's supposed to be two doses, 4 hours apart. Well, with my last labor, contractions started mildly in the evening, then pretty much stopped during the night except for one big contraction at 3AM. When I got up at 6AM, contractions started again. I expected 3-4 hours of labor at least based on baby #1. At 7:30 AM I left for the hospital and had ds at 9:30. So supposing I went into the hospital when labor really started (6AM), that's still only 3.5 hours - not enough time for two doses of antibiotics (not to mention the 45 min. drive to the hospital). That has me somewhat worried, but I guess I can't do anything about that - I'll get there as soon as I can. Is there anything I can/should do to try to get rid of the strep b? I've seen a few things on the net about natural things I can do including propolus capsules, echinacea root, garlic, etc, but at this point haven't discussed anything with the midwife or even looked into it at all. Has anyone done anything to try to clear it up prior to birth? Thanks for any info/experiences! I think you need to consider whether the evidence is really there for IV antibiotics as a routine measure for GBS colonization when no other risk factors are present (like prolonged rupture of membranes or prematurity). Is the chance that your baby will be injured from GBS (very low, esp. w/o risk factors) worth the chance that your baby will be injured by the antibiotics (e.g., death from e. coli infection) and on top of it the chance that you guys will get thrush -- -- Dagny |
#4
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Ques about Group B Strep
Not necessarily - I had to have antibiotics both times because of GBS and we
have never had thrush. Given the risks of delivering a baby when you are positive for GBS, I would definitely get the antibiotics. There was a baby from our pregnancy list that died because the mom didn't test for GBS and ended up having it. Amy I think you need to consider whether the evidence is really there for IV antibiotics as a routine measure for GBS colonization when no other risk factors are present (like prolonged rupture of membranes or prematurity). Is the chance that your baby will be injured from GBS (very low, esp. w/o risk factors) worth the chance that your baby will be injured by the antibiotics (e.g., death from e. coli infection) and on top of it the chance that you guys will get thrush -- -- Dagny |
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Ques about Group B Strep
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#6
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Ques about Group B Strep
KD wrote:
None of those should be a problem based on my last couple of births, however, I'm a little worried about getting in the antiobiotics. It's supposed to be two doses, 4 hours apart. Well, with my last labor, contractions started mildly in the evening, then pretty much stopped during the night except for one big contraction at 3AM. When I got up at 6AM, contractions started again. I expected 3-4 hours of labor at least based on baby #1. At 7:30 AM I left for the hospital and had ds at 9:30. So supposing I went into the hospital when labor really started (6AM), that's still only 3.5 hours - not enough time for two doses of antibiotics (not to mention the 45 min. drive to the hospital). That has me somewhat worried, but I guess I can't do anything about that - I'll get there as soon as I can. Is there anything I can/should do to try to get rid of the strep b? I've seen a few things on the net about natural things I can do including propolus capsules, echinacea root, garlic, etc, but at this point haven't discussed anything with the midwife or even looked into it at all. Has anyone done anything to try to clear it up prior to birth? Thanks for any info/experiences! There are a bunch of discussions about it on http://www.gentlebirth.org, wherein a bunch of people claim success with various remedies. To the best of my knowledge, however, none of them have been studied scientifically besides prophylactic antibiotics during labor. Actually, I think there were some studies comparing antibiotics during labor with antibiotics prior to labor which found that antibiotics during labor were more effective. It could well be that many of these other treatments at least reduce the colonization, but we just don't really know. That said, I wouldn't wig out over this. Of course it would be ideal to get both doses of antibiotics in. Still, if your labor is short, then your baby will be exposed for less time (especially if your membranes remain intact as long as possible). Even without prophylactic antibiotics, the vast majority of babies born to GBS+ moms are just fine. Best wishes, Ericka |
#7
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Ques about Group B Strep
Amy wrote:
This is a concern for me too, as my son tested positive for strep B, but interestingly about a day post-partum I tested neg. Not to scare you, but he was stillborn (they don't think because of the strep). Sorry to piggyback on your post, but I wondered how common it is to actually test _neg_ for strep B and have it show up in the baby. Does anyone know? Thanks for that info. I don't know how common it is, but it would certainly be possible. After all, a negative GBS culture reduces the risk of the baby being infected, but it doesn't eliminate it. Your colonization can come and go (which is why many caregivers will always treat you as GBS+ if you've ever tested positive). If the baby was exposed prior to birth rather than during birth, he could have had an infection even though later on you tested negative. I imagine it would also depend on how you were tested. IIRC, strep b can be implicated in chorioamnionitis, but I don't know that a vaginal swab would necessarily catch that. Best wishes, Ericka |
#8
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Ques about Group B Strep
Well, if it's like my last birth (and I know there are no guarantees
and every birth is different) then my water was broken by the midwife about 30 minutes before ds was born. I was already just about fully dilated and was pushing, so she broke my water. Sounds like that would be an ideal situation. But what sort of risk factors are their with the antibiotics/e. coli? From what I read (which wasn't much yet) the antibiotics are safe and shouldn't affect the baby. I haven't seen anything about e. coli - where would that come in? Just curious. Thanks! On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 21:57:06 GMT, "Dagny" wrote: I think you need to consider whether the evidence is really there for IV antibiotics as a routine measure for GBS colonization when no other risk factors are present (like prolonged rupture of membranes or prematurity). Is the chance that your baby will be injured from GBS (very low, esp. w/o risk factors) worth the chance that your baby will be injured by the antibiotics (e.g., death from e. coli infection) and on top of it the chance that you guys will get thrush -- -- Dagny |
#9
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Ques about Group B Strep
"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message ... Amy wrote: This is a concern for me too, as my son tested positive for strep B, but interestingly about a day post-partum I tested neg. Not to scare you, but he was stillborn (they don't think because of the strep). Sorry to piggyback on your post, but I wondered how common it is to actually test _neg_ for strep B and have it show up in the baby. Does anyone know? Thanks for that info. I don't know how common it is, but it would certainly be possible. After all, a negative GBS culture reduces the risk of the baby being infected, but it doesn't eliminate it. Your colonization can come and go (which is why many caregivers will always treat you as GBS+ if you've ever tested positive). If the baby was exposed prior to birth rather than during birth, he could have had an infection even though later on you tested negative. I imagine it would also depend on how you were tested. IIRC, strep b can be implicated in chorioamnionitis, but I don't know that a vaginal swab would necessarily catch that. Best wishes, Ericka That's interesting Ericka, because my son's death was never explained, but his placenta appeared 'abnormal', as though there had been a bleed. To my frustration it was never sent away for testing as I requested. Do you know any stats on the recurrance of something like this? |
#10
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Ques about Group B Strep
Amy wrote:
That's interesting Ericka, because my son's death was never explained, but his placenta appeared 'abnormal', as though there had been a bleed. To my frustration it was never sent away for testing as I requested. Do you know any stats on the recurrance of something like this? Unfortunately, no I don't. If I get a chance, I'll try to see what I can find though. Things are a little hectic right now. If you don't hear from me, send me an email and poke me about it in a week or so when I should be seeing a bit more daylight ;-) Or, of you like, you can try searching yourself at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ Take care, Ericka |
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