News From the Doctor
I have Group B Strep. Wouldn't you know that an uneventful pregnancy was not in the cards. GBS means I am a carrier of a certain kind of bacteria that is normal in healthy adult women but is detrimental to newborns as they are delivered. If the baby swallows or inhales the bacteria while she passes through the birth canal, the baby can be infected. Babies with GBS are likely to have vision and hearing problems, meningitis, mental retardation (if they survive). There is a 50% chance that it would be fatal.
Sounds really bad. Fortunately, the treatment is extremely effective - during labor and delivery, the GBS-positive mother would be administered antibiotics through an IV. The antibiotics would then be passed on to the baby. My doctor said this treatment works very, very well. GBS babies are rare especially in their clinic (natch). There is nothing I can do in the meantime because there is no way to get rid of the bacteria...I just have it. It isn't a result of poor hygiene, sex, or sitting on a toilet without a cover. It's just there. You could have it and not even know it!
I have to admit, I was freaking out for a few days after I started researching this. However everyone at the clinic was pretty nonchalant about it, like it wasn't a big deal. After talking to my doctor I felt better. She is quite confident that the IV antibiotics will do the trick. For now, I am trying not to stress.
A doctor's visit is highly anticipated but usually anticlimatic. In the first visit, they spend the most time with you reviewing what you can expect for the next 9 months in terms of appointments, tests, etc. They give you a bunch of information that will mean nothing until you need to refer to it a ways down the road. After that, you meet with the doctor once a month. First thing you do is pee in a cup. Always. Then you get weighed. The doc will measure the size of your tummy, palpitate it and then use a device (like an ultrasound thingy) to listen to the baby's heartbeat. The rest of the time she answers any questions you have and schedules you for upcoming tests. the whole visit is 20 minutes max. If you have to take a test, someone in the office will call you later to discuss the results. Closer to your due date your appointments will be every 2 weeks and then every week.
Although I haven't felt the baby move very much the past few days, the doc assured me that my baby is very active. She could tell by pushing my tummy around. I dunno, my tummy is pretty firm, I can't distinguish anything but I'll take her word for it.
Ain't this fun?
Sounds really bad. Fortunately, the treatment is extremely effective - during labor and delivery, the GBS-positive mother would be administered antibiotics through an IV. The antibiotics would then be passed on to the baby. My doctor said this treatment works very, very well. GBS babies are rare especially in their clinic (natch). There is nothing I can do in the meantime because there is no way to get rid of the bacteria...I just have it. It isn't a result of poor hygiene, sex, or sitting on a toilet without a cover. It's just there. You could have it and not even know it!
I have to admit, I was freaking out for a few days after I started researching this. However everyone at the clinic was pretty nonchalant about it, like it wasn't a big deal. After talking to my doctor I felt better. She is quite confident that the IV antibiotics will do the trick. For now, I am trying not to stress.
A doctor's visit is highly anticipated but usually anticlimatic. In the first visit, they spend the most time with you reviewing what you can expect for the next 9 months in terms of appointments, tests, etc. They give you a bunch of information that will mean nothing until you need to refer to it a ways down the road. After that, you meet with the doctor once a month. First thing you do is pee in a cup. Always. Then you get weighed. The doc will measure the size of your tummy, palpitate it and then use a device (like an ultrasound thingy) to listen to the baby's heartbeat. The rest of the time she answers any questions you have and schedules you for upcoming tests. the whole visit is 20 minutes max. If you have to take a test, someone in the office will call you later to discuss the results. Closer to your due date your appointments will be every 2 weeks and then every week.
Although I haven't felt the baby move very much the past few days, the doc assured me that my baby is very active. She could tell by pushing my tummy around. I dunno, my tummy is pretty firm, I can't distinguish anything but I'll take her word for it.
Ain't this fun?
posted by Lynette at 2/08/2006 07:48:00 PM
3 Comments:
I know how scary it can be to get any kind of diagnosis like this, but I just wanted to tell you my sister had the same thing and antibiotics before and during delivery took care of it and my little niece was just fine, happy, and healthy!
Glad to hear that chances are very very very good that baby will be just fine!
Awww, I'm sorry you have to go through this, but I'm sure the doctor knows best. I imagine the stress of it is hard though. I'll be thinking of you.
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