GBS Positive

I had antibiotics every four hours and it was good! I did a home birth and my water was broken for 44 hrs (so close to transferring). I was able to be very active and it helped keep me hydrated. It was painless and helped keep baby safe

I had an amniotic leak at 39 weeks and had to be induced so that my son wouldn’t be infected. I had no issues and even though my delivery didn’t go the way I wanted I had a really good labor experience. I know not everybody’s story is the same as mine though

GBS can come and go, I’m so curious as to why we test so early for it in North America as it’s not accurate info at all by the time labour comes. You could be positive today and not next Tuesday or you could test negative now and be positive for it at the time of labour. You can still choose to get or not to get antibiotics regardless of the status when you tested for it, the actual risk of infection because of GBS is very very low. My midwife said that they (and you and whoever else would be part of your care team) would just watch for overall signs of infection in both you and baby and treat it then if it arises but typically if there is an infection there’s no way to actually know the cause of it as there could be a million factors. Just encouraging you that it’s not a “have to” but so you can make an informed choice for you and baby- to either get antibiotics or not ☺️ many doctors and registered midwives don’t frame the facts like this as it’s so routine

I do think what Emiline said is important. Just to add on, I gave birth at 38 w and 2 days (I think), so timing doesn’t seem unreasonable. But the way my midwife explained it is that because it is a transient virus, if you test positive, they assume positivity at labor. It’s essentially confirmed you have the virus. It may not be active at time of labor. That’s how I think of it. I essentially opted in because it felt like a “no downside” situation. It’s okay if that’s not the feeling you get! You’ll make the right decision for you and your baby. You’re already doing the right thing by educating yourself!

I didn't know I had it until 12 days after birth when the midwife rang and asked if I'd finished my course of antibiotics. That was the first I'd heard about it 🙄. I just thought feeling unwell was normal after birth!

@Emiline because in this country we have no access to rapid GBS tests.

@Victoria I realize that, it’s the same in Canada. My point is it’s not an accurate test (being the results aren’t the same at the time kf testing and labour as GBS can come and go day to day) and even if it was, the risk of an actual infection because of GBS is very small (like 1-2% of infection after exposure so one could be exposed and not even get infected), and you’d watch for overall signs of infection which if there was one there’s no way to confirm it’s GBS or any other cause, so they’d treat it then. Knowing this may change a person’s decision to either say no to antibiotics or choose to get them even if their test shows negative which is my whole goal here- informed consent.

@Emiline I 100% agree.