Group B strep? Have you been swabbed?

Question

My hospital wants to swab me and if I test positive possibly give me antibiotics for it during labour.
I'm very clear in my birth plan that I'm refusing the routine IV and don't want anything that will restrict movements unless I decide to have a walking epidural.
Have you been offered this? Will you have the antibiotics if you test positive?

Answer

If you are GBS positive you will need antibiotics to prevent your baby getting infected during labour. GBS in babies can kill. As a microbiologist I would strongly recommend that you take them. All the best with the delivery and congratulations! 💕

Answer

We test in the us routinely as gbs can be deadly for babies and given the litigious nature of our healthcare system, it is prudent for drs to offer it as part of a protocol. The antibiotics prevent the transmission of the bacteria and resulting consequences for baby. Babies that contract gbs can have devastating outcomes. The test itself is not expensive, maybe $60. It's a worthwhile test to get, then you can decide how you want to proceed as far as antibiotics go. If you are positive and do not choose to get the antibiotics, you will need to be hypervigilant about watching your baby for signs of infection for the first few days after birth, and so should educate yourself about what the infection would look like in a newborn. If you don't have experience with newborns, it might make more sense to just get the antibiotics to eliminate the risk.

Answer

I've never had it with any of my pregnancies. why do u need it? xx

Group B strep? Have you been swabbed?

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