Gbs Pos.

One thing to remember is that GBS is TRANSIENT. In other words, you can test positive at one visit and not at another. That being said, the standard protocol is IV antibiotics in labor, as others have posted. Infection of the baby is still very rare, but when it does occur, it can be very serious - that is why it is treated aggressively. If you do get antibiotics, make sure you eat plenty of yogurt with live acidophilus cultures, or just take acidophilus, in order to prevent yeast infections that commonly follow antibiotic treatment. Yeast can also manifest as thrush, where it gets in babies mouth via breastfeeding and can make breastfeeding painful. (Remember, breastfeeding is NOT supposed to hurt - if it does, seek help from a lactation consultant, La Leche League leader, or breastfeeding peer counselor ASAP to resolve it.)
Back to GBS, in Europe they use a less invasive protocol than antibiotics, which has been demonstrated to be as effective at preventing GBS infection of baby as our antibiotics - and it's actually something you can do yourself. Simply use a vaginal wash with Hibiclens (available at some Wal-Marts and some drugstores). Do this as you go into labor, and then about every 6 hours until the baby is born.
Incidentally, GBS affecting babies is less common in water births (and labor is usually easier and shorter).
There is really a lot of information out there if you google it.
Hope this helps.
T. - mom of 4, including 3 amazing teens, (and student/apprentice midwife)

I am a former labor and delivery nurse at a large women's hospital. I can tell you what I know from my experiences. Group B Strep is a common bacteria that transiently lives in our bodies and does not cause any harm or infection to adults. If it is present in the birth canal at the time a baby passes through, though, it can cause an infection in the baby. This is why they test for it a few weeks before your due date. If you are scheduled for a c-section and your water bag has not broken before delivery, there is almost no risk. If you will have a vaginal birth, the doctor will order Penicillin G through your IV every 4 hours from the time you get to the hospital until you deliver. It is important for the first dose to have been completed at least 4 hours before delivery to ensure the bacteria have been killed. After the baby is born, the pediatrician will probably want to check the baby's temperature more often, and may draw some blood to test for infection. It is important to remember that there is no risk to you, and little risk to the baby. It is very common and your doctor and nurses are familiar with treating it. Babies who are the most at risk are premature babies, ones with a very fast labor when the mom does not have time to get antibiotics during labor, or babies whose immune system is already compromised for some reason. If you are having a healthy term baby, don't worry about it. Just make sure to tell your nurse you are GBS positive when you get to the hospital. Hope this helps! Good luck and congratulations!!!

Hi C.!

I tested GBS positive with my 2nd. I had my baby 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital so we did not have time for the anti-biotic and my baby was fine. My water did not break and the midwife broke it when I was pushing so there was very little chance of the baby getting the infection. Everything I read said that if you have a long labor after the water breaks there is more of a chance of infection.

I tested GBS negative for my 1st and 3rd babies.

C. -

I tested Group B Strep positive with my first daughter almost 4 years ago. Normally, GBS isn't a problem. Just make sure as soon as you go into the hospital when you are in labor that you tell the nurse you have tested posititve for Group B Strep. You need to get the shot of anitbiotics NO LESS THAN 4 HOURS before you deliver. The danger of GBS comes when you don't get the shot early enough. GBS can cause bacterial meningitis in the baby. Unfortunately, I didn't get the shot early enough - my daughter was born 3 hours after we arrived at the hospital. They tested her twice at the hospital for the bacteria and it came back negative both times. But the strep can cause meninigitis as long as a month after delivery. My sweet baby came down with a high fever at 15 days old and got the bacterial meningitis. Thank goodness we caught it early. She spent two weeks in the hospital and has no effects of the infection now. I'm currently 35 weeks pregnant with my second daughter and my doctor isn't going to test me. She doesn't want to give the hospital staff the "option" of not giving me the shot. She told me that since my first child got the meningitis, there's actually more of a chance of this one getting it. Her words to me were, "Go in the door screaming that you need the shot for GBS and that your first child had meningitis." Also, my understanding is that having a c-section can DIMINISH the chance of passing it to your baby, but it DOES NOT ELIMINATE IT.

The idea here is to make sure you are aware of your labor pains and that the hospital staff knows you need the shot. Don't rely on your charts to tell them. Enter Group B Step into the search feature on WebMD.com. They have some great information that's simple and easy to understand on GBS.

Don't worry - the more information you are armed with, the better you'll do with this!

You're talking about Group B Strep? I had it too, but since my kids were born C-section it wasn't a big deal. Previous poster is correct, lots of women have it, they just make sure to give you an antibiotic before delivering to be sure it doesn't pass to baby. Just be sure to remember to mention it next time you have a child, if you have a different OBG.
Congratulations on the new baby!! Boys are a lot of fun...

i had this with my son, i found out early b/c i had a bladder infection. they will give you med durring and maybe after del and you will have to stay in the hosp i think a complete 48 hrs.

I had it too..The only thing they did was when I went in to have my son they gave me a bag of penicillin..And then they tested him to make sure it wasn't passed, and it wasn't..The dr told me 1 in 3 women test positive, we all carry it but not everyone's is "active" if that makes sense..Congrats on the soon arrival of your baby boy..