For mom with positive GBS, will you go to hospital early?

[babysalvador]

okay, i am new to this forum, and i am expecting my first one, forgive me for sounding so ignorant, but what is GBS?

[swissair81]

Group Beta Strep. It's normal bacteria that can sometimes colonize the vaginal canal, and can cause infant sepsis if the baby is exposed on the way out. They usually culture at 36-37 weeks & give IV antibiotics during labor if you are positive. There are some issues with this approach, but I won't go into that now.

[SnuggleBuggles]

group beta strep. They test mom for it around 36-38w and if she is + they need to decide what the best course of action is. Many women, at some point in their lives, test +. In fact, mom could test positive at 36w but be negative a few weeks later- it's very transient. There are possible health risks to baby if they are exposed so they usually do antibiotics in labor to help avoid that.

Do you have great pregnancy books (by great I mean not "What to Expect..." )? I haven't read the Fields' one yet but I will. Till then I recommend Baby Center's Essential Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, The Birth Book by Dr. Sears, and any books by Penny Simkin.

Beth

Beth

[swissair81]

adding pregnancy/labor authors to Beth's list:

Penny Simkin (she's good enough to repeat)
Sheila Kitzinger
Ina May Gaskin
Henci Goer
Barbara Harper
Pam England
Janet Balaskas
Michel Odent
Marsden Wagner

oh and Jack Newman has one of the best breastfeeding books out there.

[babysalvador]

wow thanks for the answers, now i know, i am still on my 34th week, so i guess my doctor would tell me about it in the next few weeks,

[SnuggleBuggles]

wow thanks for the answers, now i know, i am still on my 34th week, so i guess my doctor would tell me about it in the next few weeks,

I highly encourage you to read, research and write a birth plan on your own time and not wait to hear what the Dr. tells you. Some are fantastic about really explaining things so you can make truly informed choices but a lot more are not. It stinks but often it really is up to you to do the leg work so you can help up the odds of a safe, satisfying birth experience.

Beth

[swissair81]

I highly encourage you to read, research and write a birth plan on your own time and not wait to hear what the Dr. tells you. Some are fantastic about really explaining things so you can make truly informed choices but a lot more are not. It stinks but often it really is up to you to do the leg work so you can help up the odds of a safe, satisfying birth experience.

Beth

[moonsky]

I highly encourage you to read, research and write a birth plan on your own time and not wait to hear what the Dr. tells you. Some are fantastic about really explaining things so you can make truly informed choices but a lot more are not. It stinks but often it really is up to you to do the leg work so you can help up the odds of a safe, satisfying birth experience.

Beth

I totally agree. Thanks for suggesting on books. I got to read one of them: the Creating Your Birth Plan by Marsden Wagner. I found it is very informative.

[moonsky]

adding pregnancy/labor authors to Beth's list:

Penny Simkin (she's good enough to repeat)
Sheila Kitzinger
Ina May Gaskin
Henci Goer
Barbara Harper
Pam England
Janet Balaskas
Michel Odent
Marsden Wagner

oh and Jack Newman has one of the best breastfeeding books out there.

Thanks for list of books. I may pick up some more to read. I finished one from Marsden Wagner about a weeks ago.

[swissair81]

I have a whole library. I'm starting to put a course together to teach childbirth ed around my neighborhood. My OB was actually the one who suggested it (while I was in labor). I was quite flattered.