Newborn with infection

smarty_mcfly

Hi all, just wanted to get some peoples thoughts on my son's birth.

My wife went into labour on Saturday - we were admitted to the hospital at 1.45 and my wife explained to the doctor that she was having contractions and that as she was positive for Group B streptococcus. She was brought into a room with only a chair and attached to a monitor first to check the baby's heartbeat and then for her blood pressure.

During this time the contractions were getting visibly stronger (which the attending midwifes commented on). After 3 hours she was finally given a medical examination by the only doctor on call and was told that she was already 9cm dilated and that she was about to give birth.

She was brought by the midwife to a delivery room and attached to the first antibiotic drip which had only just finished when she gave birth at 5.30 on Saturday. We were told that the ward was extremely short staffed that day and that one of the two midwives on duty had practically been working for 30 hours straight...

Today we were told that the baby has an infection and that he is going to have to start a course of antibiotics for what could turn out to be Group B streptococcus, and of course we are both extremely worried about this turn of events.

My query is, should I be questioning any of the above or does it sound like normal practice?

mirrorwall14

When exactly was she put on the drip? I know I was strep b positive and was out on the drip as soon as labour was established (I was <1cm at that stage). It was still too late as I only had 1hr coverage before he was born. Luckily he didn't pick anything up

cameramonkey

I cant say if the hospital practice was normal but my son got a MRSA infection when he was born.

At the time it was worrying but it cleared up quickly with a course of antibiotics.

smarty_mcfly

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

When exactly was she put on the drip? I know I was strep b positive and was out on the drip as soon as labour was established (I was <1cm at that stage). It was still too late as I only had 1hr coverage before he was born. Luckily he didn't pick anything up

She was put on the drip at 5pm - already 9cm dilated and gave birth 25 mins later

mirrorwall14

smarty_mcfly wrote: »

She was put on the drip at 5pm - already 9cm dilated and gave birth 25 mins later

I know I only got mine in the delivery room but I was transferred at <1cm due to a poor heartbeat so it was a lot earlier than 9cm. You could ask the hospital or someone else here might know if it should have been started earlier

Toots

I was positive for group b strep and I was put on the drip as soon as I got to the hospital and they confirmed I was in labour. I was 2cm dilated. That was at about 9am and my baby was born at 5:45pm so I got all 3 doses of IV antibiotics.

I'd be questioning why it took so long to get your wife on IV when she said at the outset she had group b strep. I know there were stickers all over my charts saying I had to be given antibiotics as soon as labour was established.

I know they said to me that they didn't want me to labour too fast so that they'd have time to give me all the antibiotics. If I hadn't had all 3 doses, my son would have had to be put on antibiotics after the birth.

Miss Merry Berry

I found out that I had Group B Strep when I was pregnant, around 7 months. It's an infection that 50% of the population carry or so I was told. I was told by the midwife who told me I was Group B Strep originally to ensure to pass this information on to the midwives as soon as I went into labour to ensure they gave me a course of antibiotics so I wouldn't pass the infection onto the baby. My friend's Mum is a midwife and she gave me the lowdown on it all too. She advised me to reiterate this information as information can get lost in notes etc. It sounds like the midwives were overworked and forgot about the antibiotics. Hopefully your baby will be fine after the antibiotics.

mirrorwall14

Our lad was on 48hr hold with regular temp checks but they didn't go straight to antibiotic for him tho they were concerned that the speed of my labour had prevented coverage. As a random aside if I was positive on the last birth should I be positive the next time?

OP based on the above Id be asking questions tbh

Silverbling

Hi

strep b can be very serious, I do not mean to alarm you as my son is now 16 and towers above me

if you at any stage are not happy with your baby go straight to the hospital, getting anti biotics now is very good, my son was undiagnosed for 5 days and then got an mrsa infection at 5 weeks prem so we had a bit of a rough ride

due to both we spent a lot of time over the years in hospital, I am not trying to frighten you but give you some tips on strep b babies when you wean them as that is when the problems might show up

be very wary of dairy, bananas, apples, wheat and for some strange reason potato's

when you wean start with something plain, for us it was carrots, if they are fine on them then every 3-4 days add 1 other ingredient only until you figure out what is good and what causes problems, if they get bronchilitus or asthma symtoms in my experience it is food related

16 years later my son is handsome, kind and the light of my life and can eat everything from shellfish to peanuts with no problem at all, (but still not oranges) when he was born, group b strep was unheard of except for in medical circles, I was given the antibiotics in labour with my daughter and everything was fine, there is a help group you can discuss any issues with as when it was first formed we realised different foods were an issue

enjoy your baby and congratulations x

Silverbling

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Our lad was on 48hr hold with regular temp checks but they didn't go straight to antibiotic for him tho they were concerned that the speed of my labour had prevented coverage. As a random aside if I was positive on the last birth should I be positive the next time?

OP based on the above Id be asking questions tbh

if you tell your midwife they will make sure you get 4 hours antibiotics in labour as a precaution

Sligo1

OP your wife should have been commenced on the IV antibiotics as soon as she went into active labour and was dilating.

Here's a question for Toots. Just regarding your post... Why would your baby have needed a course of antibiotics if you didn't receive all doses? I'm pretty sure your baby would only receive this course of they were diagnosed with an infection or their vital signs were indicative of same?

If the mother doesn't recieve the antibiotics that are due, usually the baby needs to be monitored (vitals signs etc) for 48 hours post birth to insure there is no infection etc.

My doc and midwife forgot to give me the antibiotics during my second labour. But the labour was less than an hour so there wouldn't have been enough time to recieve the required
Dosage anyway.

Op, if you want to take this further you probably could considering the time line involved. Especially if your baby has contracted an infection because of this...

smarty_mcfly

hi all, OP here - thanks for the replies!

I'm very concerned about the situation to be honest but not sure what to do...

my wife is very upset as she feels guilty for having potentially transmitted the infection to the baby (i'm trying to reassure her that it's not her fault) and on top of that is now going to have to spend at least the next 6 days in hospital (10+ if the culture comes back positive for streptococcus .

We also have a 2 year old who up until Saturday had spent most days with mum and both are finding it difficult to be away from each other.

Do any posters have any advice on who in the hospital i should talk to about my concerns?

Silverbling

smarty_mcfly wrote: »

hi all, OP here - thanks for the replies!

I'm very concerned about the situation to be honest but not sure what to do...

my wife is very upset as she feels guilty for having potentially transmitted the infection to the baby (i'm trying to reassure her that it's not her fault) and on top of that is now going to have to spend at least the next 6 days in hospital (10+ if the culture comes back positive for streptococcus .

We also have a 2 year old who up until Saturday had spent most days with mum and both are finding it difficult to be away from each other.

Do any posters have any advice on who in the hospital i should talk to about my concerns?

Hi

As someone who is very passionate about Group B Strep and whose baby was part of the initial study on it, it is not your wife's fault at all, but be grateful they have caught it and are treating it.

Babies and 2 year olds are very resiliant, your wife gets a lovely break in bed with her newborn with dinners cooked for her and your 2 year old gets 6-10 days with daddy, your bond will be amazing at the end of it

Trust me it is better than spending a week every month in Crumlin for 5 years.

They have come so far with the research and while you are traumatised, I am delighted that hospitals are now treating Group B Strep with the respect it deserves, it is totally preventable and treatable, left alone it can cause havoc

Sligo1

smarty_mcfly wrote: »

hi all, OP here - thanks for the replies!

I'm very concerned about the situation to be honest but not sure what to do...

my wife is very upset as she feels guilty for having potentially transmitted the infection to the baby (i'm trying to reassure her that it's not her fault) and on top of that is now going to have to spend at least the next 6 days in hospital (10+ if the culture comes back positive for streptococcus .

We also have a 2 year old who up until Saturday had spent most days with mum and both are finding it difficult to be away from each other.

Do any posters have any advice on who in the hospital i should talk to about my concerns?

OP there will be a complaints procedure to follow. If I were you I would ask to speak to the CNM2 of the labour ward and also the consultant in charge of your wife's care. Get answers from them and don't let them fob you off with talk of being understaffed etc. This is a real problem and if you are upset or worried about it your concerns need To be acknowledged and answered. If you still feel you want to make a formal complaint and feel you have rationale for a formal complaint than ask to be informed of the local complaints procedure.

Orion

We can't give medical advice here I'm afraid. Speak to your GP if you have medical concerns.

Edit: due to my lack of knowledge about this I've asked another mod to review