Can I Have A Home Birth After Having Bstrep In Previous Pregnancy??
Hi
In a previous pregannacy with a previous partner i had BStrep which my daughter caught during birth. She had an infection in her lungs but with some care in scbu and antibiotics she is now a thriving 6 yr old.
4 yrs ago i had another daughter with my now husband and had to be induced due to pre eclampsia after i went a week overdue and had anti biotics during labour to ensure baby did not contract BStrep due to my history which she did not.
We have now decided to have our last child but i would love a home birth but would i be allowed to with the BStrep history? I would never want to put my baby at risk but is there a possiblilty because 1 of my children contracted BStrep that any others will?
Thank you anyone for any help. I would just like to know if there is no chance as otherwise i would even discuss it with my midwife.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Birthing At Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
October 12th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
BStrep colonization comes and goes, you may end up being negative this time around. the actual chance of your baby getting ill from BStrep, if you are positive, is only 0.1 to 0.25%.
even if you are positive, you can always choose the homebirth and be watchful of your baby for any sign of infection.
there are also ways to treat yourself to reduce or eliminate colonization. there is good info at this site to treat yourself prior to testing http://gentlebirth.org/archives/gbs.html#Garlic
also, the following site has a good section on BStrep, especially for people in the uk, and addresses homebirth options. http://www.homebirth.org.uk/
best of luck to you
October 12th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
if you are strep b they would not even entertain the idea and why would you?..i lost a baby at 36 weeks pregnant inutero
to that vile condition and now im 35 weeks again and have to be induced early because of strep.
please get the idea out of your head as you would never forgive yourself if anything happened.
what if your waters broke?..it takes 4 hours for the antibiotics to get through?….and because you have had other babies chances are it wont get through in time and this time your baby might get seriously ill or even die.
not enough is known about strep b only that it comes and goes and it can kill babies inside the uterous and in labour!
PLEASE DONT RISK IT!
October 12th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
There is an excellent homebirth website with a section just on bStrep.
See:http://www.homebirth.org.uk/gbs.htm
October 12th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
in my opinion, because of your rocky history i would think that u would not be a good candidate for home birth.
in comparison to a hosptial birth, i must admit giving birth at home sounds very lovely but i wouldn’t risk it.
not that i went through labor before.
October 12th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
just to be safe maybe you should stick to the hospital.
they are prepared just incase
October 12th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
There is no definate testing for Group B Strep as it in transient in the vagina ie it may not be there one week but if tested the following you could be positive. As you know GBS can cause serious infections in neonates.
As already mentioned, pre-eclamsia could reoccur – you will be monitored closely for this. If all well with your BP etc then a home birth could be considered.
There are other risk factors your midwife will be aware of and advise you on as and when, eg prolonged rupture of membrane (your water broken for more than 24hrs) or raised temperature/pulse in labour are additional risk factors to previous GBS and would neccessitate transfer to hospital. The midwife following a home delivery assesses the baby in the first hour or so and would again indicate if and when a transfer to hospital would be necessary.
A homebirth, where there are no medical contra-indications can be a great expereince but I am glad to hear your birth plan is ‘to have a healthy baby’. My best advise is to develop a good relationship with your midwife and if set for a homebirth remain open minded and put your trust in the professionals and take any advise to transfer if neccesary as they will only do this if your or your baby’s health is at risk.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Policies vary from trust to trust. Having strep B once does not mean you will have it again this time. There is absolutely no risk to your new baby if you are strep B negative in this pregnancy. The trust I work in only treat women with antibiotics in labour if this pregnacy is affected and not on the basis that youv’e had it in the past. A bigger concern for a home birth is that you say you had pre eclampsia last time. I am all for home births but it would make sense for you to (a) get screened for strep B and (b) moniter your BP very carefully. If all goes well, you are negative for strep B and there are no concerns about your BP then there really shouldn’t be any reason not to have a home birth. You will need to discuss this with your midwife. Good Luck
October 12th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
as your middy they no your history