Group B Strep Second Pregnancy

I tested postive with my first and was not able to get antibiotics, my son was fine and showed no signs of infection. With my second son I tested negative and didn't recieve any antibiotics.

Group B strep is tough. It comes and goes. So once you test positive, the standard is to treat any further pregnancies. If the baby gets GBS during delivery and gets sick from it, it can be deadly. I remember having beautiful, perfectly formed term infants die from GBS. (I work in a NICU) This standard has dramatically reduced this. So far there has been no rise in other bacteria because of the antibiotics being given during delivery.

I am unsure about "having to stay more than 24 hours". Ask your doctor about why that was the case last time. If you had not received antibiotics four hours prior to delivery, maybe they wanted to watch closer. Ask your doctor what situations would require a longer than 24 hour stay. Depending on what help you have at home, how difficult the delivery is, etc a longer stay can give you additional time to recover. Remember this time you bring home a newborn AND have another child to care for. You need your rest wherever you are. Best of luck!

You've gotten a lot of great answers already, but thought I'd chime in too. I was not tested during my first pregancy, but ended up being Strep B positive. This resulted in a very scary NICU stay for my full term baby. During my recent pregancy I discussed this with my doc. He said that there was no need to even take the test this time. Once yuo have it you always have it, it is a matter if it being active. He said testing negative now would not in any way indicate if I would pass it on to my daughter. I was treated during labor and luckily everything went much smoother this time. I would much rather spend 45 minutes hooked up to an IV getting the antibiotic and 48 hours getting to know my new baby in our hospital room than to spend the 48 hours trapsing back and forth between my own room and the NICU.

I had it with my second pregnancy and my doctor told me that once you have it, it never goes away. It may recede to almost nothing, but can flare back up and be prominent. Please do not refuse the antibiotics or treat it yourself! Babies can get seriously ill or die from this type of infection.
As far as the 48 hour stay- that is the insurance limit so that is what hospitals set as the standard. You can leave earlier but that doesn't mean your baby gets to leave with you. If they do let you and the baby leave after 24 hrs, you will have to return to the hospital the next day for a weigh-in, blood work, and general physical check-up.

They can't make you stay. You could if you really wanted to sign a waiver that you are leaving against medical advice shortly after delivering but they can keep your baby there. Why not just stay and rest the two days in the hospital. I don't really see what the big deal about staying is. Enjoy the quiet and the help while you can. I also want to add that with my first it was recommended to stay 48 hrs with my second I had the option of being discharged after 24 but my son was not given the okay. With my first I stayed 3 days bc he needed to stay the extra day and I was not leaving my new baby and w/ my second we stayed 2 days bc again I was not leaving my new baby. I think whether you stay 24 or 48 hrs really has a lot to do w/ your doctor, the hospital, and their policies. In my area 48 hrs is the norm for vaginal deliveries .

I was GBS positive, got antibitiotics during labor and left the hospital (was discharged upon request NOT AMA) the evening of the same day my daughter was born (no overnight stay). It was NOT and issue, noone (not the nurses, nor my midwife or the pediatrician) had any objections.
Don't just assume hospital policy, ask your provider about your options and remember that you can change providers/hospitals, if you don't like what they offer.
Good luck!

I'm not sure why you had to stay in the hospital after you gave birth because of strep B. Normally the antibiotics are given before delivery so that the baby doesn't catch it from his/her mother. They will test the baby in the nursery as well. If the baby tests negative, there is no reason for you to stay. Were the antibiotics not given to you in time for your first delivery? That's the only reason that I can think of that would cause you to have to stay longer. I think that 24 hours is pretty standard for a vaginal delivery. I had c-sections with both my girls, but I distinctly remember the nurse saying that a vaginal delivery was a 24-48 hour stay. As long as the doctor (and the pediatrician) clears you, you can go home. Double check with your doctor since everyone does things differently, but I'm pretty sure that's the standard now.

I'm not too sure about the whole testing neg and still needing antibiotics thing, but I was B+ for all 3 of my pregnancies. #3 was a precipitous (uncontrollably fast) labor and I got zero antiobiotic treatment (and zero anything), but they checked the baby and he was fine. Maybe you can compromise and take the antibiotics but not let them make you stay the whole time. (But why wouldn't you want to stay? I thoroughly enjoyed my pampering time at the hospital before having to go home and care for multiple kids!) Good luck!

I had antibiotics during labor for GSB but because my water broke before labor began and I was in labor for about 20 hours her bloodwork showed some signs of infection. She had to be on antibiotics for 24 more hours so we were in the hospital for almost three days.

I had gbs with my last 2 and I didn't get to the hospital in time for any antibiotics for one, and I only had time to get 1 dose the last time. Both my babies were just fine. Both babies did have to stay 48 hours, though, for observation.

I had it with my first but not my second and no I didn't have the antibiotics the second time.

I was positive with both my pregnancies, but for the second I was only in the hospital for 24 hours.

I was given the IV as soon as my contractions got heavy enough to go into labor, and then it was stopped immediately after the girls were born. Once you test positive for the Strep, they treat you as though you're always positive. I'm not sure why you had to stay for 48 hrs unless there was another factor that they felt necessary to keep you. Congratulations!

At my doctor's office, they don't even test you for a second pregnancy if you were positive the first time. If you have EVER tested positive, you are presumed positive for the safety of the baby. So I think what your doctor is doing is standard. I'm sorry.