• GBS treatment options

    Date: 2010.09.17 | Category: Birth | Tags: ,,,

    Group B streptococcus, most often simply called Group B Strep or GBS, is a bacteria that naturally inhabits the digestive tract in humans. Sometimes, GBS finds its way to the vagina or rectum, and this “GBS colonization” can have serious consequences for newborn babies. According to some estimates, anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of all pregnant women will be colonized by GBS. Should you be tested for Group B Strep in pregnancy, and if so when? What are the risk factors for GBS? And what are the treatment options for women having a homebirth?

    In the United States, GBS screening is an integral part of obstetric prenatal care (not so in many other countries). It is not hard to understand the reasoning behind this. After all, it is possible for a GBS positive mother to pass the bacteria onto her baby during birth, even though that is extremely unlikely. Statistically, babies born to mothers who were colonized at the time of birth have a two percent chance of becoming sick from GBS, without treatment. GBS can lead to meningitis, pneumonia, or sepsis. Newborns who were infected with GBS could experience breathing difficulties, have bloody stools, an abnormal body temperature (too high or too low) and can even end up with seizures. In rare cases, it could even lead to death.

    GBS screening is normally carried out between 35 and 37 weeks gestation, and those who test positive and birth at hospitals are given IV antibiotics during labor to treat it and prevent transmission to be baby. However, testing for GBS during the third trimester does not mean you will be colonized while giving birth, too. Preventing the unnecessary use of antibiotics on newborns is certainly merited. There are steps that any woman can undertake to prevent GBS colonization, to treat it, and prevent tranmission from mother to baby.

    At hospitals, where artificial rupture of membranes (AROM) and frequent vaginal exams are common practice, antibiotics are arguably the only treatment option. Minimizing or eliminating vaginal exams during labor, and leaving the waters to break on their own, decreases the risk of GBS being passed on to a newborn. But if you know that you are GBS positive, this is probably not enough to prevent transmission. Here are the treatment options for GBS if you are having a homebirth assisted by a midwife, or an unassisted homebirth.

    Treatment options

    • Vaginal wash with chlorhexidine (hibiclens). This is standard practice for hospital births in many European countries. The treatment involves squirting this anti-bacterial wash, which has been found to eliminate GBS, onto the vaginal, labial and rectal areas using a peri bottle. Hibiclens washes can be started during the third trimester, and be used throughout labor. The chlorhexidine has to be used every six hours during labor for it to be effective, especially after the rupture of membranes has occurred.

    • Garlic is a natural remedy against GBS. I am not sure how evidence-based this remedy is, so if you are considering using it, I’d recommend doing lots of research first! In order to fight Group B Strep, garlic can both be inserted into the vagina and used orally (right, we’re talking about eating it!).

    • Practitioners of naturopathy often say that collodial silver, a “natural antibiotic”, can be used to prevent GBS.

    • Taking probiotic supplements can maintain the balance of “good bacteria” in the digestive tract and prevent GBS colonization.

    • Some women use tea tree oil to eliminate Group B Strep. If you are considering this option, delivering the oil to the vagina has to happen in a diluted form. Try soaking a tampon in diluted tea tree oil, and inserting it.