Strep B testing.

I’m a first time mom, I had never heard of strep b testing and I was tested for it. Thankfully bc I was positive and had to have penicillin while I was in labor

FTM and I'd only heard of it due to my step sister having it in her pregnancy. I was tested for it without being told (they were testing swab for thrush). Knowing about it I'd deffo get tested for it if I hadn't already been tested

I worry about this too :( so much publicity about how dangerous it can be and Idon't understand why this isn't routine tested? Many of symptoms could be regular pregnancy related things

I was under the impression they treated for you it in labour with any future pregnancies anyway so testing isn't technically needed if you have already had a positive as it comes and goes. There are also trials for testing being done at some hospitals now too

First time mum at 37 weeks and I have just tested positive after a routine swab testing for thrush. I’m so thankful it was picked up but now extremely anxious about the labour

it's better to know x

bless you, honestly I had a midwife once say to me “the ones who test positive are the lucky ones because now they’ll be treated as positive at birth for all labours” and it’s true, strep B can come and go so if you test negative at 36 weeks you could still be positive at birth - all that will be different is they’ll admit you sooner than if you were negative and give you antibiotics during your labour - I’m so glad it looks like it’s just my midwife doing a dreadful job and that more people are being tested than when I first had my son nearly 14 years ago xx

it goes down to the hospitals but also previous labours because none of my labours have had me in labour long enough to be treated for antibiotics (you need to be on the antibiotics for a certain amount of time) since 2012 I’ve been put on consultant care which was my third pregnancy and they’ve always requested testing, I tested positive with my 3rd and 4th so they tried to treat me again however due to not having been on the antibiotics long enough they also had to observe the baby for 48 hours afterwards every 3 hours. With my 5th I tested negative so they didn’t administer antibiotics during labour (once again I wouldn’t have been in labour long enough anyway)

@Katherine insufficient antibiotics does need observation. It's a lottery! Hopefully with the trials it will.be standard to offer testing to everybody. I refused testing in my pregnancy for the trial because I'd been in and out with pre term labour and had what felt like a million swabs anyway ( same time period it was being offered). Had I not had swabs I would have had testing.

it felt like a huge kick in the teeth to hear what my midwife said today.. I tested positive in my first pregnancy but I was never informed (nearly 14 years ago) it wasn’t on my handheld notes and only on the computer system - I went PROM (a common system of strep B) but MAC just confirmed my broken waters and asked me to return at 8am the next day to book in a bed for induction due to having no contractions they were pretty sure this would be the case - at 11pm I returned with intense contractions and my son was born at 2:12am - very simple good labour and they told me I’d be home shortly after breakfast. I saw no one obviously until morning in which it was the discharge doctor there to let me go home he took one look at my son and said everything was okay but because there was a bruise on his head where I was at 3cm for a long period of time (never can understand that as my labour was so quick 🤣) he just needed to note it down on the system so no one became concerned that my

child had this massive bruise on his head basically… 20/30 minutes later a different doctor came in and asked to check over my son, with an extremely concerned look on his face he ordered my son to be admitted into neonatal immediately and told me to wait where I was - it took 3 hours of me crying and shouting at staff for someone to say you strep B and they are monitoring your son now and we need your consent to put him onto antibiotics right away - still not having strep B explained to me and having to Google what the hell was going on - I finally was allowed into neonatal 8 hours after having my son taken from me to visit him.. it was the worst experience of my life and yet we still remain one of the ‘lucky’ ones!

I completely respect your decision to refuse testing, that’s your choice and should never be taken from you. But having experienced what I had and to be told “Ahhh it’s not so important” is a real kick in the teeth and I just want to let women know who do not know what strep B is or who do and didn’t know they could request a testing for strep B to know that no midwife is allowed to refuse their request x

@Katherine to be told its not important is wrong. I in effect did have testing, just not part of the trial. I hope you get antibiotics this time around c

I don’t understand why they don’t test everyone as it’s such a common thing in pregnancy! I recently pushed for a swab and it’s come back positive so will have to have antibiotics during labour - but it’s scary to think how many women don’t know before going into labour, due to limited testing, and to think how dangerous it can be for babies! I’m just very grateful I was tested and it was found before I deliver - hopefully preventing infection spreading to my baby 🤞🏼 x

I haven’t here’d of it until recently and I’m a first time mam at 36 weeks