when we said no

Keelie Schroeder
Aug 6, 2020
9 min read

If you missed part one of my new momma...pregnancy...birth-day...series, you should definitely go back and check out last week's post here. It was all about preparing for your baby's original birth-day!

Before we get into today's topic, I just want to remind you again that no matter how you choose to birth your baby, how perfectly you plan everything out, God's plan is the only perfect birth plan. His plan for us and our baby is so much bigger than we can imagine! So although it is great to be knowledgable about what you want, it's important to remember that every birth story is glorious because God is the author.

This week I will be sharing some personal choices with you all again that pertain to labor and delivery! We know that what we believe is not the norm and that is part of the reason I feel so compelled to share.

Part Two: You can say no.

If you have had a baby before then you know that around 36 weeks you receive a Strep-B test. If you test negative (like I did with my first pregnancy) you don't have to do anything. However, if you test positive, the standard protocol is that when you are in labor, you will be hooked up to an IV with antibiotics pumping into you (and subsequently your baby) to prevent the baby from being born with Strep.

That's it. No other options. Right? And why would you question the protocol? It's what's best right?

Sorry...you clearly cannot hear my sarcasm. I should stop. Here is when I start telling you why we said no to the doctor's protocol. But not only why but what we did instead. I'm not completely ignorant here...I know that Strep can be harmful to my baby BUT I also know that the protocol can be harmful as well. Let's begin...

Why say no...

For starters, I am a research junkie. I like knowing what I am getting myself into before wholeheartedly diving into anything. I am what Gretchin Rubin would call a "questioner". Someone who has the incessant need to find out facts for themselves. Let's just say that I want to hear it from more than one angle before I believe fully. Especially when it comes to the health and well being of my family.

For many years I have been educating myself on the importance of a healthy biome. You might be wondering what in the world I am talking about...and I promise you that you are not alone! Your microbiome is basically the organisms in your body. The most commonly known biome (and the one I am going to refer to here) is your gut biome. Have you jumped on the probiotics trend yet? This can be attributed to the growing knowledge of your gut bacteria! Hippocrates made it known over 3,000 years ago that "all disease begins in the gut". And he wasn't wrong. We are learning now that a healthy gut (meaning the appropriate balance of good and bad bacteria) plays a huge role in aiding your immune system. I encourage you to look into incorporating probiotics into your daily routine (and really do your research because there are many companies out there making false claims...I would recommend this brand. My whole family takes probiotics made by this company.)

So now you might be thinking...Nifty, what does that have to do with Strep B?

My answer..."Everything."

Normal practice for a woman who is GBS+ is for her to be hooked up via IV to an antibiotic throughout her labor. This is to ensure that the Group B Strep bacteria are destroyed. Want to know what else that antibiotic destroys? Everything. For you and for your baby. Unfortunately, the antibiotic doesn't know the difference between good bacteria and bad bacteria (the GBS), and in an effort to protect the baby from acquiring GBS, the antibiotic also kills the good bacteria that my baby needs to have a fighting chance of an immune system. Researchers now know that babies receive healthy bacteria and micro-flora when they pass through the birth canal. This passing of healthy bacteria from momma to baby is the birthplace (haha pun intended) of your baby forming her own immune system. Killing that good bacteria is literally robbing your already helpless newborn of the essential ingredients that help keep her healthy in those little years.

I get what you're saying but what other option do I have...

Oh honey I am SO glad that you asked! You do have options. There are always options. It may take some digging and investigating and an ample amount of courage to go against the norms of Western culture, but there are always options.

First, I think it is important to note that even though I tested positive for strep-b, my baby was born healthy. No Group B streptococcal infection for that baby girl. And I did not take any sort of antibiotic. What I did was this...

I educated myself on how I could cure the infection naturally before my baby was even born AND if heaven forbid I was still GBS positive at my time of delivery, I knew what red flags I should look for that would put my baby at a higher risk of infection.

Ways to Treat GBS

Here is what I did to lessen the chance that I would still be GBS+ at the time of my child's birth (because of course, I don't know if I actually cured it since I was not tested again...although you can get tested again if you want.) All of the treatments below...and more...can be found in the resources at the end of this post.

ACV Rinse This is easy. Fill a water bottle with about 1/4 apple cider vinegar (with the mother) and the rest with water. Poke some holes in the top of the water bottle. Use it in the shower to rinse out your lower lady parts. The ACV is acidic and will kill the harmful GBS bacteria. **It's important to note that even though GBS can be harmful if your newborn contracts it, you will have no idea that you are GBS+, there are basically no symptoms for you and it causes you no harm. You can even test positive for it one day and negative the next...yet another reason why I did not want to accept antibiotics.
Garlic Protocol This one is a little more...hmmm...interesting of a practice? So I am just going to say it, be a little embarrassed with the raw truth of it annnnd move on. Garlic is a natural antibiotic. Can you guess where I am going with this? Here are the steps to the garlic protocol (also found in the links below.)
1. Cut open a clove of garlic. Whole cloves uncut will not work.
2. String a needle and thread.
3. Use the needle to thread the string through the garlic.
4. Tie the string so the garlic is attached leaving several inches of string.
5. Insert garlic like a good ol' fashion tampon.
6. Leave in overnight. (I found it best to do at night so I wouldn't think about it.) I know it sounds a little too crunchy for some of you but garlic has been tested in labs to kill GBS...sooo why not?
Probiotics Probiotics are essentially good bacteria you put in your system to help balance your gut flora. GBS has colonized because there is some imbalance of bacteria so the probiotics should help balance out the good to overcome the bad. Here is a link to the probiotics I used. (and now still do).
Echinacea and Astragalus drops These herbs boost your immune system helping your body naturally fight off the bacteria. Here is a link to the drops I used.
High doses of Vitamin C daily This boosts your immune system too. Same reasons as above.

Red Flags

Before I even went into labor, my midwife and I discussed these risk factors, red flags, that we needed to watch out for that could increase the likelihood that my baby would be born with GBS. We agreed that if these factors were under control that no intervention was necessary but if she felt I was starting to show signs of any sort of risk, we agreed to go with our last resort...the antibiotics.

Baby born premature (before 37 weeks) This is pretty self-explanatory. As long as my little one stayed tucked in tight until after 37 weeks, we were in the clear here.
Water breaking early (18+ hours) What I mean by this is that if my water were to break and the baby was not born within 18 hours, we could be at risk. I believe this is because the baby is exposed in the birth canal to the GBS and could contract it, being in that stage for so long.
Fever during labor Pretty self-explanatory again. I believe this is an indicator because it could mean my body was trying to fight something off or was in distress.

After Delivery

Once my beautiful little girl was born we were not completely in the clear yet. Even though I had none of the risk factors listed above...she was 40 weeks and 2 days at her time of delivery, my water broke about 20 minutes before she was born, and I had no fever...

I say we were not in the clear yet because there are two types of GBS that newborns can acquire. Early-onset and late-onset. A baby born with early-onset GBS will start showing symptoms within 7 days of delivery. And will typically start showing signs within the first 24 hours of life. For this reason, we had to stay in the hospital a full 48 hours so they could monitor my daughter and make sure she wasn't showing any signs of early-onset GBS.

Late-onset GBS works exactly as it sounds. The signs of GBS don't surface until 7 days to 3 months after delivery. This was a little nerve-wracking because the symptoms could show up so long after her birth. But again, I believe so strongly in educating yourself on the signs and symptoms of any illness...we knew what to look for and if she showed any sign of being sick we could be ready to intervene.

Fortunately, she is now almost 2.5 and leads a perfectly healthy life!

I am so thankful that we did our research on this topic.

I know I am not any sort of medical professional but I believe that, in an effort to help of course, oftentimes we are too quick to jump on the fix-it-with-medicine bandwagon instead of asking, is there a way to help build my immune system and fix the problem from within?

Word of Caution

If you ever find yourself 36 weeks pregnant and GBS+ and decide against the use of antibiotics...first of all Go You! (again my personal opinion...no shaming here...everyone can decide for themselves what is best for their baby and their family).

Second of all, please be ready to defend your decision and stand firm. You are making this choice because you have done the research and you understand the risks (I did not touch on that here because the resources I have listed do a fantastic job outlining all the risks...and I strongly encourage anyone who is interested to do their own research). After my daughter was born, the pediatrician that saw her drilled us with questions as to why we chose not to use antibiotics during labor. She made it VERY clear that we made a poor choice. We had to stand up for ourselves. Yet sometimes, with some people, it is best to just smile and nod because you know you are on polar opposite ends of the spectrum.

Every Birth is Beautiful

Like I said at the beginning, every birth story is perfect because God is the author. He doesn't make mistakes. There will always be some part of our plan that doesn't work out the way we imagined because he has a bigger plan for us. Through sharing our experiences, my hope is to inspire another momma who is faced with an unexpected crossroad the chance to choose what she feels is best for her family. You don't have to agree with how we handled the birth of our daughter. And that's okay. My hope is to touch the heart of another momma who might be struggling with her positive GBS test result, thinking there is no other option. My advice to her would be, pray. Pray for the strength to make the decisions that seem the hardest. Spending regular time with Jesus softens our hearts and opens our minds to hear his answers to even the hardest of questions.

See you soon friend,

Remember I do not have this. And if we are honest with ourselves, we know that none of us do.

But remember God does.

*Extra Resources (because I would want these if I were you to do my own research ☺️)

Something We Are Loving Right Now!

This week's "thing" is going to seem super random...even more random than trying to have a cohesive conversation with my almost 2 and 1/2-year-old daughter. Today she wanted eggs for her second breakfast (this is common practice in our house...am I alone in this struggle?!) Mid-sentence she starts talking about pretzels...and by the end of her ask she's talking about a PB & J. Random? YES!

Now that I have gotten totally off-topic, here is my share for the week...ladies if you have not already heard of this, let me introduce you to the Pit Boss Pellet Grill. I never grilled...I didn't really have the patience or time to watch the food to make sure it didn't burn (because I am a mom with a spaghetti brain!). Typically my hubby would grill while I prepared the rest of the meal. But he's not always home. If I tried to do both, something would end up burnt or it would just take way too long.

This grill is incredible. It works like an oven. Set the temperature on the little nob, let it warm up, put your food on, and let it cook! You basically cannot burn anything on this grill because it is temperature-controlled. My sister-in-law's mom even cooked an egg bake in a regular baking dish in this grill! It is so versatile!

There are lots of other brands of pellet grills out there but this one is highly recommended because it is moderately priced yet works amazing.