avoiding or "curing" group B strep

[Anonymous]

I've read several places that if you do test positive for group B strep at 36 weeks you may be able to "cure" it by what you eat or with homeopathic approaches.

Has anyone gotten such advice from their doctors, doulas, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Talk to your OB about strep B- my OB (amidwife too) reassured me that strep B was an issue in poorer countries- but here with antibiotics etc.- it's not prevalent. I was + for baby 1 and they never tested for baby 2 since they automatically treat regardless of results (once your +- you're+).. Basically, given what *can* happen to a baby with group b exposure, i';d rather err on the conservative and have treatment during labor - even w/ any curing steps before.. But that's just me of course..

best wishes for a continued healthy pregnancy and healthy baby!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talk to your OB about strep B- my OB (amidwife too) reassured me that strep B was an issue in poorer countries- but here with antibiotics etc.- it's not prevalent. I was + for baby 1 and they never tested for baby 2 since they automatically treat regardless of results (once your +- you're+).. Basically, given what *can* happen to a baby with group b exposure, i';d rather err on the conservative and have treatment during labor - even w/ any curing steps before.. But that's just me of course..

best wishes for a continued healthy pregnancy and healthy baby!!

Do you know how women get it? My internist wasn't able to tell me - she just said it's very common in women of child-bearing years.

[Anonymous]

Hi- I wasn't given tons of stats on getting it since I had already read and knew almost every friend had group B (so common) - I found this .. hth but now that like 40-50% pregnant women test + .. (and it's nothing they did).. but do take precautions for your little one! basically, make sure you go to the hospital "soon" if your water breaks- but the risk is still low. a good friend had a leak overnight and then went in- all was fine... I so know how the first pregnancy you scrutinize everything but be assured this is common and avoidable- and ask more questions to your OB (I remember being in tears asking my OB for #1- we had such a hard time keeping a baby- 4 m/c)
http://www.dhpe.org/infect/strepb.html

How do people get infected with group B strep?

Group B strep bacteria are different from many other types of bacteria that can cause disease. People can be "colonized" with group B strep. This means that they carry the bacteria in their bodies but are not infected and do not become sick. Adults can carry the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, genital tract, or urinary tract. About 10% to 30% of pregnant women are colonized with group B strep in the genital tract.

Colonization with group B strep is usually harmless. The bacteria can become deadly, though, if something happens that allows them to invade the bloodstream. In adults, weakened immunity resulting from cancer treatment or a chronic illness can prompt an infection. More often, pregnant women who carry the bacteria can unknowingly transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Newborns can acquire early-onset group B strep disease either before or during delivery. The cause of late-onset disease in babies is not well understood.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I know what to do if I have it and can't get rid of it but I remain curious about how to get rid of it. You can request to be tested again closer to labor if you are positive at 36 weeks.

[Anonymous]

I've been replying so far: It depends on your OB but my OB said once you're positive- they don't retest- it just means you're +- it's precautionary.. what about antibiotics are you worried about? I am super paranoid preggo mom and I would never decline the antibitiotics for group b

[Anonymous]

I everyone could get rid of group B then no one would be treated at birth- and it would be a common procedure (there is no way to "get rid" of groub b) breathe in and out- you're in the 50% of women who hvae it with no consequences to them but warnings to children during birth,..

[Anonymous]

Even a woman who has it at any given moment won't have it at other times and some doctors will re-test. It is not the case that once you have it you have it for life, even if that is how doctors treat it.

Having it may not affect a woman laboring in a hospital that much but it really affects the plans of a woman laboring at home.

[Anonymous]

OP, nobody has answered your question, which I think is a great one, so I'll tell you what I've read. (I can't handle IVs, so I'm in a similar boat.) I read that garlic kills GBS, so some woman is doing a study in which for the 8 days before testing, patients insert at night a clove of garlic (putting a string through it so it's easy to take out). Yes, insert. Yes, gross. I'm just eating a ton of garlic instead.

Also, probiotics are being studied as a helpful way to treat, so I've been eating three yogurts a day. You could try probiotic supplements instead; I'm just avoiding supplements.
hth.

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to say that after talks with my OB, there is no guaranteed way to make sure that you are rid of it and the only way to truly play it safe at your delivery is to take the antibiotics. I tested pretty early on and my OB said even if I did the course of antibiotics now, it was more than probable it would be back and I would still have to have them at labor. He said the safest bet and what has worked with his patients is to just be aware and have the antibiotics at labor. It's the one thing I guess I have in what is an otherwise (thankfully) boring (to him) pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, nobody has answered your question, which I think is a great one, so I'll tell you what I've read. (I can't handle IVs, so I'm in a similar boat.) I read that garlic kills GBS, so some woman is doing a study in which for the 8 days before testing, patients insert at night a clove of garlic (putting a string through it so it's easy to take out). Yes, insert. Yes, gross. I'm just eating a ton of garlic instead.

Also, probiotics are being studied as a helpful way to treat, so I've been eating three yogurts a day. You could try probiotic supplements instead; I'm just avoiding supplements.
hth.

Thank you! I had read about probiotics and yogurt but not about the garlic. (for those who seem to be assuming otherwise, I haven't tested positive yet - I am trying to avoid a positive test in the future) I see there is a lot of information about garlic online and I will discuss it with the midwife in my practice group.

[Anonymous]

For the 8:23 poster -- If you are planning a home delivery, your midwife can make arrangements to get the IV antibiotics and have them on hand. It is possible to get treatment during labor for GBS and still have a home delivery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, nobody has answered your question, which I think is a great one, so I'll tell you what I've read. (I can't handle IVs, so I'm in a similar boat.) I read that garlic kills GBS, so some woman is doing a study in which for the 8 days before testing, patients insert at night a clove of garlic (putting a string through it so it's easy to take out). Yes, insert. Yes, gross. I'm just eating a ton of garlic instead.

Also, probiotics are being studied as a helpful way to treat, so I've been eating three yogurts a day. You could try probiotic supplements instead; I'm just avoiding supplements.
hth.

Thank you! I had read about probiotics and yogurt but not about the garlic. (for those who seem to be assuming otherwise, I haven't tested positive yet - I am trying to avoid a positive test in the future) I see there is a lot of information about garlic online and I will discuss it with the midwife in my practice group.

Be careful with probiotics. If you google them, you'll see that there was recently a big study that said they're not so good for you after all.

[Anonymous]

Here's the probiotics link from The Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-0318_health_probiotics_rmar18,1,5876681.story

chicagotribune.com

Health

Probiotics study raises concerns

New York Times News Service

March 18, 2008


Probiotics, the potentially beneficial bacteria and yeasts available as diet supplements and in some foods, may not be as helpful as widely believed. A new study suggests that under certain circumstances, they can be deadly.

Researchers studied 296 patients at risk for severe pancreatitis, a potentially lethal inflammation of the pancreas. Each was randomly assigned to receive either a commercially available probiotic or an identical-looking placebo. All patients were otherwise given conventional treatment.

There was no significant difference between the two groups in severity of illness at the start of the trial. But while 31 percent of the probiotics group required intensive care, only 24 percent of the placebo group needed it. Eighteen percent of those who took probiotics, but only 10 percent of the others, required surgical intervention. In the probiotics group 24 people died, a death rate more than twice that of those given the placebo.

Several smaller studies have associated probiotics with a reduction of infections. But this study, published online in The Lancet, was the largest randomized, double-blinded trial of its kind, and the authors found no other reason for the harmful effects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the 8:23 poster -- If you are planning a home delivery, your midwife can make arrangements to get the IV antibiotics and have them on hand. It is possible to get treatment during labor for GBS and still have a home delivery.

Thanks, this is definitely true. My personal plan is to labor long at home but deliver in a hospital.