Dealing with a Newborn's Group B Strep Diagnosis

My three-day-old newborn niece has been battling a bacterial infection since she was 12 hours old. They confirmed a preliminary diagnosis of Group B Strep yesterday and have her in the hospital's neonatal ICU while she's treated with the antibiotic Penicillin G.

She's had some setbacks, but the last 24 hours have gone well.

As you can imagine, we're fishing for information on what can be done to help her beat the infection and fully recover. I've found a Group B Strep mailing list on Yahoo, but I wanted to reach out here as well in case anyone reading Workbench has gone through a similar situation. If anyone can offer any insight, it would be appreciated.

Health · 2007/08/21 · 3 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

Unfortunately, I'd assume that there's nothing more that can be done for her than what the NICU is doing already -- penicillin, surveillance cultures, standard precautions, and a tincture of time. GBS can be devastating, and I'd assume that the docs there tested everything to make sure they know what they're treating (e.g., spinal tap to know if it's meningitis, etc.).

Good luck to her and her parents!

#1 · Jason · 2007/08/22

The first result on Google is for the Group B Strep Association. Looks like they may have some helpful links.

All our best wishes on the full recovery of your niece, Rogers.

#2 · Sterling Camden · 2007/08/22

Hi - I work for Group B Strep Support. A british charity aimed at providing information for members of the public and medical professionals about GBS. If you go to our website you can download our leaflet called "If your baby was infected with GB". This will give you lots of information. Obviously it is aimed at the british public but the basic information will still apply.

Hope your niece is getting better.

Lindsay Norris

#3 · Lindsay Norris · 2007/08/24