# So how do you get GBS anyway?



## XanaduMama (May 19, 2006)

Just wondering. Apparently like 30% of people have it, so where did they all "catch" the bug? This is partly of personal interest: I was GBS+ last time, got the ABX during labor (LOTS of 'em)--so does this mean I'm clear this time, or could it come back? How?!


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## cherubess (Oct 14, 2004)

I asked the OB attending my DS's birth and he said that it is something that naturally occurs on/in the body.

I asked him if there was anything I could have done to avoid it and he replied no.


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## aylaanne (Mar 7, 2007)

GBS status can change week to week, though, so you may want to get tested with your next pregnancy to see if you're still positive. You could have cleared up or you could have recolonized. Because you tested positive before, they will assume you're positive with your next baby if you don't get tested (or at least, most people will). Personally, I'm not getting tested.


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## XanaduMama (May 19, 2006)

Yeah, I know--my question is HOW one gets "recolonized"??? Nobody ever seems to ask or address this, and now I'm wondering.

Plus, if it really is just "naturally occurring", then how come we don't have babies dying all over the place from the infection? From an evolutionary perspective, this seems questionable.

Maybe I'm just grumpy about all this. I prob won't get tested next time either and do the hibiclens thing just in case. But I actually do want to know if there's an answer to this question out there.


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## jbobys (Apr 24, 2007)

GBS CAN be very serious~ fatal, but its also very rare for babies to catch it. From what I can tell in my mass reading on the topic, USA is one, if not the only country that routinely tests for it. There are several things you can do to get rid of the infection, as well as keep it away.

from what i can tell, its a lot like yeast...its naturally occuring and it just grows and some things make it worse where as it doesnt affect some women at all. sugar, for instance makes yeast grow and can cause gbs to get worse also.

i was positive last time and am trying to avoid it this time. im taking probiotics daily and will use hibiclens around the time of my test, as well as in labor if i test pos.

im by no means an expert, so please excuse me if im not right on about this stuff...ive done a lot of reading lately, though, so i *hope* im fairly well versed


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## beckyphry (Sep 26, 2006)

When asking a friend about prenatal testing, she told me this:

Quote:

if i was only going to get one screen, i'd get the gbs screen. the reason why is that most women possess type-specific circulating IgG gbs antibodies to the gbs antigens. these are passed to the baby via placental circulation. if the baby is exposed through prolonged rupture of the membranes or ascending infection, they tend to do ok. on the other hand, some women do not have the circulating antibodies, and newborns exposed in utero and during delivery are born already very sick. more than 50% die. *a woman on my ultimate team two months ago delivered a baby boy that died from gbs sepsis.*

many hospitals and birth centers are unwilling to assume the risk of not screening/treating gbs(+) women, since it is so strongly associated with a very negative outcomes, and so easily treated.


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## RachelSerena (Aug 4, 2006)

You can use garlic suppositories 2 weeks before getting tested to be more likely to get a negative result. I would also then use garlic suppositories before going into labor to make sure I wasn't recolonized in the weeks between the test and the labor.


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## mommajam (Dec 7, 2006)

*"most women possess type-specific circulating IgG gbs antibodies to the gbs antigens. these are passed to the baby via placental circulation. if the baby is exposed through prolonged rupture of the membranes or ascending infection, they tend to do ok. on the other hand, some women do not have the circulating antibodies, and newborns exposed in utero and during delivery are born already very sick. more than 50% die."*

This indicates to me that they should be looking for the *antibodies*, not just the GBS. Why don't they?


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