My Strepelle test came back positive - anxious

[Lea89]

Hi ladies,

I did a home Group Strep B test which I got a text for yesterday stating it positive.

I will need antibiotics during labour but I am allergic to penicillin, does anyone have any experience with what will happen? What will they use instead? Will my baby need a cannula in his hand and be kept in?

I'm freaking out a bit, didn't test with my first as didn't know about it!

Thanks x

 

[WinterWolf]

Can't help with the baby side but the antibiotics they give will depend on your doctor. My mum is allergic to penicillin and they give her e-mycin for literally everything. It's all she's ever been able to keep down. There's loads of options now so you might be given something different. Good luck, it will be fine x

 

[Sydney]

They will administer another suitable antibiotic if you have a penicillin allergy (this allergy is very common).

You might find some useful info here: https://gbss.org.uk/

 

[Shanivy]

Not sure about the baby hun. But I'm sure the risk of passing it to baby is actually not that common. Erythromycin is what I've been given with a severe penicillin allergy too. So there's definitely other options xx

 

[candymycandy]

In my experience, if you get the full dosage of antibiotics in labour, your baby will receive subsequent observations every 6 hours for 24 hours to check for any signs. They’ll only need a cannula if they showed signs of infection and need treatment. Make sure to tell your mw you’re allergic to penicillin and she’ll make it clear on your notes along with being GBS+, they will give you an alternative.

Try not to worry too much for now, it’s so common they’re quite experienced with dealing with it. So as long as you get all your antibiotics there’s a high chance baby will be fine. If for some reason you didn’t and baby did get poorly then yeah you’d both stay and he’d get antibiotics through a cannula. Have a chat with your mw who can talk you through it x

 

[Sydney]

Sorry forgot to mention the info about baby:

If you have sufficient antibiotics coverage in labour (so if your waters go at home, you need to call the unit as they'll need to confirm if that's the case and commence the antibiotics), then baby will just need observations. Each units frequency may be different, but essentially the baby should be protected if you've had your antibiotics. If there are any other events in labour that suggest infection, in addition to the GBS, or if your baby has abnormal observations after delivery, they may recommend antibiotics for your baby then. Once you've had your baby, you will discontinue antibiotics.

Try not to worry, the main thing is as I said, if your waters go, put on a pad and call your maternity unit, explaining you're GBS positive.

 

[Lea89]

Thank you everyone for your replies, I'll deffinately let my midwife know asap.