In the world of information and modern medicine you would think that women and men everywhere would know about Group B Strep and its effect on pregnant women - more importantly its effect on delivery. But alas, this symptomless bacteria goes unmentioned in women's health education until you become pregnant. Then you start picking up on clues - mentions of what to expect in doctors visits, pregnancy books, childbirth education classes.
Today I know that 43% of women carry GBS in their vagina and/or anus. The bacteria is different than Strep Throat. It is not an STD or otherwise a transmittable bacteria - it is just something you pick up along the way that is consistently becoming more prevalent, or at least awareness has increased, in our society. For example, books published 10 years ago state that 1 in 4 women have it whereas yesterday I learned that the most current statistic is 43% of women carry it. And yes, I also learned that I have Group B Strep growing in my vagina.
It sounds terrible and gross, right? Actually not really gross? It is symptomless unless you have certain autoimmune diseases or are getting chemo - then it might become a problem in the everyday life of a woman.
But when you are having a baby it becomes a big damn deal, and so it should. The knowledge of GBS has identified the cause of many health problems with newborns, such as fever, breathing problems, seizures, limpness/stiffness, heart rate and blood pressure abnormalities, poor feeding, sepsis, pneumonia, meningitis and sometimes death.
So what does this mean?
Between 35 and 37 weeks you get tested for group B strep. They don't do it earlier because it is so easy to catch that they need to check at the very end. If you have it then you have to get an IV of antibiotics every 4 hours for approx 20 minutes throughout your labor. The bacteria grows so fast that they have to keep giving you antibiotics - but at least they no longer make you be on an IV the whole time. As a result, I now have to have a needle in my arm, something that we had hoped to avoid. This also means we have to go to the hospital a little earlier (we were going to wait until contractions were 3 minutes apart but now we have to do 5 minutes apart) and we have to stay in the hospital for approx 2 days so that the baby can be monitored to be sure they don't develop any complications from the bacteria. We had hoped to leave the hospital much earlier, but alas we will be there for a couple of days now to make sure Thriller is okay.
In Bradley they continuously tell you that Healthy Moms Have More Options - which is true - and now my options are limited by a bacteria that I did nothing to contract and didn't even know existed prior to being pregnant. In reality we are blessed to know what GBS is, know that I have it, and be in a place in the world where we can take preventative measures to protect Thriller from it. But I feel dirty and like I am already doing something that puts my child at risk so I feel terribly guilty too! I can only come to the conclusion that these feelings are the result of a lack of information about GBS. I think we should talk about it more and be more educated about the bacteria as a society rather than slipping it in like a dirty little secret that puts your unborn child at risk when you are pregnant.
I have to get over my disappointment in the diagnosis and move on - and likely this is a good exercise for me to go through prior to delivery as I am sure there will be other bumps in the road that deviate from our ideal birth plan. Needles, early admission, later discharge. Not that big of a deal, I can still move around, get in the tub, and generally do everything just as we have planned. And we have information to protect Thriller. That is what is most important.
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