Totally bummed...

I know, the title doesn't sound very adult-like, but that's how I feel!

You know, it seems like the trend in my pregnancies is that at the end, some “crisis” happens that kind of throws my plans out the window, or at least requires adjustment (it’s good to be flexible though, right?!)

Little Girl was still breech at 36 weeks. That kind of freaked us out, because NOBODY will deliver a breech baby without a c-section, and I did not want a c-section. I ended up coming to terms that if cs was the best, safest way to get my baby here, then that would be ok. Then she flipped and all was well.

This time I have tested positive for group b strep. (Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a type of bacteria that is found in the lower intestine of 10 -35 % of all healthy adults and in the vagina and or lower intestine of 10-35% of all healthy, adult women. GBS should not be confused with Group A Strep, which causes strep throat.) Now, this isn’t such a big deal. With out treatment (meaning antibiotics through IV) the chance of my baby getting the bacteria is between 1-2/200 and 1/4444 (depending on which source you look at, isn’t that weird?!). And the chance of long term problems or death for those babies is about 1-2/200. So not a big chance of something bad happening.

But SERIOUSLY!? Menigitis? Sepsis? Things that could lead to cerebral palsy or death?! I don’t want that for my baby. I don't even want her to have to spend time in the NICU! And I want to take her home when we're ready!

But then there are the cons of marinating my baby in antibiotics (which is what the pediatricians want me to do). First off is the destruction of all the good bacteria that babies are born with. Which can cause yeast infections (yuck!) and thrush! Not good. Then there is the chance that a “superbug” could be created because of overuse of antibiotics.

Another possibility is getting yeast infections myself, so I plan on taking a probiotic every day starting now just to build up the good flora. Finally, I have to be hooked up to an IV. I know, most of you are probably thinking “that’s standard procedure” (due to the erroneous belief that laboring women will die without it) but since I’m hoping to have a drug-free birth, I need to be able to move around freely, and being hooked up to wires kind of makes that more difficult.

Plus having a needle in your arm isn’t super comfortable. Makes relaxing kind of hard.
Here is what I read in an article from my Bradley Instructor: “Intravenous Penicillin to all women with a positive GBS culture is routine Obstetrical protocol. This is effective however this commonly results in postpartum yeast infections for mom and baby (including thrush), allergic reaction and possibly anaphylactic shock and contributes to antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. The fall in GBS infections from routine antibiotics has been more than offset by a rise in deadly, penicillin-resistant E. coli infections.”

So I have some decisions to make. Not really whether or not I’ll take the antibiotics, I think I will, but of when to go to the hospital. What if I get their too late for the medicine to kill the bacteria, and my baby gets it anyway? What if my water breaks, but labor doesn’t start right away and I have to have 4 doses?

I love my midwife, by the way. She is so helpful, understands that this isn’t an ideal situation, and is pretty supportive of what I decide. She says the peds want me to have 4 DOSES of antibiotics, but she thinks if I can just get one dose, then get the baby delivered before it’s time for another dose, that would be the ideal situation. Which brings up the question of labor augmentation.

Anyway, any insights or suggestions would be great, unless it’s fringe, unsupported and undocumented “facts” about this subject, which I can do without. Anyone tested positive with a pregnancy before? How did it work out?

Thanks for reading if you made it through!
As a reward, here is a cute pic of Little Girl with her cute Dear cousins!