38 weeks GBS

[Jaxon6913]

I am 39 weeks tomorrow and was told today my urine has show GBS my Midwife's etc have been no help at all! Iv been given antibiotics and have been told I will get IV antibiotics during labour. I have only ever heard bad stories of GBS and iv also been stupid and googled it I am absolutely passed myself with worry, i have been through so much with this pregnancy it's like it's been doombed from the start and I am working myself up so much and only thinking of the worst

[Gill3284]

I had it in my urine too, right from when I found out I was pregnant at 20 weeks it showed up in every test they did and then a swab at about 38 weeks. I worried myself stupid throughout so I sympathise. The midwives always assured me so did the doctors at the hospital that it was fine and really nothing to worry about but I felt like it was ok for them to say that, it wasn't them in this position! It did nothing to reassure me especially after googling it as you do. One midwife laughed at me for googling it and told me it's made out to be 100 times worse by what you read on there and to be fair she was right. There's loads of stories of babies who were really sick or didn't make it but when you read further most of them are cases where it wasn't picked up in a test. On reflection now I'm glad it was picked up and it made the whole labour with my boy less stressful I thought because everything was more controlled, he had to be out within an 18 hour window I got told and if he wasn't I would be given a c section. The midwife in hospital said if it wasn't for b strep I'd have been sent home and told to come back once my contractions had progressed. My waters went at 4.20am and when I phoned the hospital and told them and said I had b strep it was just like the midwives told me it would be, they told me to come in. After much messing about because they struggled to find a vein I was given 1 dose of antibiotics about 9am then stuck straight on to a drip to speed up labour. By lunchtime I didn't need the drop because my body was managing itself and they gave me my second lot of antibiotics. He was born and 19.39 fit and healthy even though I had questioned several times if the antibiotics would still be working so long after my last dose. We were kept in for 24 hours and he periodically checked to make sure his temperature was ok and he was alert and feeding well and all coming out the other end. I hope I've helped a little to put your mind at rest. I did like you always fear worst but found the midwives were right all along. It's better that it's been picked up than not been, look at the positive. At least now it can be dealt with when you go into labour, I'd be more worried not knowing now. You'll be fine and so will your little one, midwives know what they're doing. Good luck x

[GBSSadmin Partner Volunteer Group B Strep Support]

Hi Jaxon6913

Thank you for getting in touch. I am sorry to hear that you are feeling so anxious.

Firstly it is good that you have found out that you are carrying group B Strep whilst you are pregnant as now you are able to take preventative measures during pregnancy to massively reduce the risk of your baby becoming poorly.

It is completely understandable that you are so worried but in an attempt to ease your anxiety somewhat it is worth noting that the chances of a baby being infected by a GBS infection are reduced from 1 in 300 babies to 1 in 6000 when given IV antibiotics during labour. Carrying GBS during labour and delivery does not mean necessarily that you or your baby will become ill. The large majority of babies born to mothers colonised with GBS at the time of delivery will not develop GBS infection, even without preventative antibiotics in labour.

We are here to help so please do contact us on [e-mail] or call us on 01444 416176 if you need any further information or support. We also have a wealth of information on our website and you may find the FAQ section particularly helpful, gbss.org.uk/what-is-gbs/faqs/

Wishing you all the best.

Angie

[Jaxon6913]

Thank you for the replies. Iv been passed myself with worry, all I know about group b strep is bad things. I started my antibiotics today, I'm absolutely terrified that someone thing is going to harm my baby and with her being my last baby I really wanted to do everything natural but now I'm considering asking for a section to see if this reduces the risk of her getting it. I feel like everything has been put to doomb this pregnancy we have had a few complications and just as I'm settled and happy this happens and it's just knocked me x

[Gill3284 in reply to Jaxon6913]

I asked if I could have a c section and was told it wouldn't make any difference and there's other risks involved in that itself. It's once your waters go that there's risk of infection so a c section wouldn't take that risk away unfortunately. Try not to worry yourself, you'll be given an antibiotic drip in hospital and the labour sped up and all will be fine. I was beside myself and couldn't believe how the midwives just get dismissing it like it was nothing. I had every worse case scenario running through mind just like you but honestly keep looking at the positive, it's better that you know it's there than not.