Do my own Strep B test?

When I got to the midwife she wanted me to do my won strep b test. This is a first and i have never heard of other obs or m/w's asking anyone to do this. Whats everyone else's experience?

Did anyone come out positive? Im still waiting for my results.

My OB did mine and my results are negative. My sister had positive results with her pregnancy and so she was put on antibiotics during the labor. Her son was fine and didn't have any complications.

Dee

I haven't done mine yet, but I will be doing my own too. It'll be either 2/17 or 3/3, but I'm not sure exactly how. Maybe it's a midwife thing?

my midwife is doing mine, that is the first i heard of DIY strep B

I've also never heard of DIY.

With my 1st pg, they hadn't started routinely checking for strep b yet. I think that started happening when dd was about 6 mos old. With my 2nd pg, I tested + and have been told that once you test + you will just automatically get the antibiotics with any following pgs. So I haven't been tested since and will just be getting the anitbiotics again this labor.

I have never heard of DIY, but it doesn't appear to be tricky, just a little swab...

I asked my OB if your results can change from pregnancy to pregnancy and she said yes, but she might have meant, that if you were negative before you could be positive this time around, not that if you were positive before you could be negative this time around.

Mine was negative...

My OB has a patient that tests positive with all of her pregnancies, and her labors are so short that they have to induce her 1-2 Weeks early just do they know they will have time to admin the meds for StrepB because if she goes into labor on her own they won't have time - how funny is that?

That may just be her ob's preference. While I've been induced with #1,3, and 4, #2 came on her own the day before induction. I got antibiotics all the times I needed them.

dc 2 ~ I got there and was 5 cm. They got me ready and hooked up to the IV and labor was going quickly. They had to force the antibiotics thru the IV quicker than usual. It burned and I had to keep rubbing my upper arm. They got one treatment thru in 30 min.

The induced dc ~ went in and got all hooked up. No pitocin yet, though. Got a bag of antibiotics at the normal rate of 60 min. Had to wait one hour. Got the second bag at the normal rate. After done with that bag, then I was started on the pitocin. So, it delays induction by 3 hours (if the nurses are on the ball, otherwise longer).

They prefer 2 bags of antibiotics, but 1 bag will do the trick. When put thru at 60 min you don't feel it. When pushed thru faster, you feel a burning sensation up your arm and into your shoulder.

karen, I tested pos with my first pg. Never tested pos again. But with my 3rd child the ob treated me as if i was pos. He said once pos always pos. I had no idea.. sure whatever he says...goes. Well since then... i found out that its not true. I find it funny that your ob says the same thing. But everyone else since then says thats not true. I really really hope i dont test pos this time around either. I DO NOT want an IV and this is the only way i would have to have one. I did find out our hospital has wireless monitoring though. I find that cool!

April, that's interesting. Why can't all these docs have universal information?

SarinasLilAddition wrote:My strepB test isn't until 36 weeks.. so two more weeks.. but was just wondering.. how common is it??

All my DR has really told me about it is, quite a few moms have it, and that if you do have it, you have to stay in the hospital 1 extra day after delivery?

Really? I have never heard of that either. I didnt have to stay any longer. I found out the soonest i can be discharged is 6hrs after birth.. So thats what i am doing. Nurses dont know how to leave the sleeping alone!

Unless i deliver at like 6pm.. i wont want to leave at midnight... but i will be putting locks and chains on the friggin door! I hate the nurses who come in.. I need to take the babies temp.. do your blood pressure and press on your stomach till you fall off the bed screaming! No way...not this time..not to this momma! Live and learn!

ETA.. Nurses like to do this crap in the middle of the night after the baby just nursed to sleep and you have gotten comfy dozing off!

Sarina,
My OB told me that if I tested positive for Strep B that I would have to stay in the hospital 48 hours if you don't have it then its only a 24 hour stay. It is strange how all the doctors say something different.

Dee

I swear, its one of the most interesting/scary things, how all OB's have different opinions and different rules when it comes to just about everything under the sun. I mean look at the OB's in Europe...all patients drink wine throughout the pregnancy and their children't don't come out with FAS, so who the heck knows. I swear, one OB says Black, the other says White, its unreal, and they all went to Medical School, don't they teach them the same things? I mean realy.

I have never heard that Strep B means an extra day in the hospital, HOWEVER I don't think I know anyone that has tested positive for it, my one friend mentioned something about it, so maybe she did, but I know she didn't stay an extra day.

I can't imagine leaving the hospital 6 hours after delivery, I am just a big chicken, I want experts watching my child to make sure everything is okay and that everything is okay with me. The only time a nurse came into my room was at 6:30am to take my blood, I wanted to knock her out, but that was it, they left me alone during the night, except for when they brought Olivia to me to feed, she stayed in the Nursery when it wasn't time to eat so I could sleep.

My Dad had a Professor in college, hand out her final exam at 12 noon, tell the class she would be back at 4pm to collect them, and she went and had a child during that time - HA. I can't even imagine. My GF was induced in October with her 2nd, at 8am and she was already breastfeeding him at 11:15am, so that was pretty quick, sign me up for that labor...

So here are some details about Strep B...

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/groupbstrepinfection.html

It says that you can test positive at times and not at others...thats why they say its so important to be tested during all pregnancies.

And from the CDC, who I have to put my faith in, they have their "stuff" together...

http://www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/docs/GBS_Patient_Info.pdf

I didn't see anything in all 10 links I read about an extra nights stay...I am guessing it might be to monitor the baby...not really you.

The extra night is to monitor the baby.

Dee