Any mums of ASD kids carriers of Strep B during pregnancy?

[cmuir]

Hi

 

I noticed on AOL website and on five news that this Strep B was a feature. Group B Strep (GBS) bacteria infects 700 newborn babies in Britain each year, killing 75 and leaving 40 with serious long-term mental and physical problems. Pregnant women are not currently screened as standard (and should be!). It's also something with some midwives know nothing about. Considering an intravenous antibiotic injection can be administered during labour to help prevent death, poisoning, meningitis, etc, it's shocking that women aren't routinely screened.

 

I'm aware that the cause of autism is still being researched and that there are many possible causes. However, I'm just curious how many mothers of children who have an ASD were carriers of Strep B during pregnancy. I discovered late in pregnancy that I was a carrier of the bacteria purely by chance. After reading up on the subject, I noted that babies can be affected by mental problems (along with other problems). My son has an ASD.

 

Caroline.

[CarerQuie]

As far as I know,I wasn't a carrier of Strep B in pregnancy.xx

[lindy-lou]

I wouldnt know either because like you say women are not screened in the UK,it is routine in the US and is a very cheap test too,a woman on a pregnancy forum i go on bought herself a test and her midwife has refused to perform it I dont know if there could be a link between it and ASD but it would be interesting to know and also be great if more people campaigned to make it a routine test in pregnancy.

[loulou]

Hi,

 

I am a midwife and Strep B has only become widely known about over the last 8 years or so. One of the reasons women are not screened is because you can get false negative results. Also you can pick it up at any time, therefore you would have to be screening women frequently. I know in France they screen women alot more. At least 30% of the population are carriers of strep B, but it is perfectly harmless to us. Newborns however can become serioulsy ill (and can die) if they are infected with it during childbirth.

 

What is common practice in UK maternity units is to screen/treat those at risk. This includes women who have previously been carriers of strep B, pre-term labour and also women whose waters break before they go into labour. Premature babies are much more vulnerable to infection. Also if your waters break before you go into labour and you are a carrier of strep B, the baby is more likely to become infected.

 

As for the link with ASD's, i've not heard anything but if i find any inforamtion at work i will let you all know!

 

Hope this helps,

 

Loulou xx

[jb1964]

Hi Caroline,

 

I hadn't even heard of Strep B, until about 5 years ago. After 2 miscarriages a swab came back with an Anaerobic infection. When I next got pregnant they took routine monthly swabs to check and was treated with Metronidazole gel because they couldn't give antibiotics for less than 12 weeks, during these routine swabs one came back with Strep B - I was closely monitored then for both but suffered another miscarriage.

 

My last pregnancy I carried on being monitored closely and had various doses of gels and antibiotics and then during labour given antibiotics intravenously and my little girl is now 3.

 

During my eldest daughter's pregnancy (who's 13 ASD) - I had complications at the end due to IUGR and she was induced early because the placenta stopped working properly after 32 weeks, my daughter then continued to be under a Paed. from birth 'til she was 11 for failure to thrive. I didn't know anything about either of these infections and have since thought that this may be linked.

 

Take care,

Jb

[Vix]

I am. I had a miscarriage before I had DS1 and they found Strep B infection, I was given antibiotics for it and it was never mentioned when I had DS1, and I didn't know anything about to think it was something relevant and he was fine. With DS2 I was told 2 days after he was born that he had tested positive for Group B Strep and he was given IV antibiotics for 5 days and seemed to suffer no ill effects, he wasn't ill at all and I never thought to ask whether it was routine to take swabs from newborn babies. He was an emergency c-section under general anaesthetic as his heart stopped and I have often wondered whether it was either of these things that may have caused his ASD.

 

Vicky

 

xx

[cmuir]

Hi Vicky

 

That's interesting. Have to say that there are a lot of women (pregnant women as well as health care) who either know nothing about this bacteria/infection or know very little. Considering that this bacteria can seriously harm and in some cases even kill babies, I find that really hard to take. I myself knew nothing of it, but after being admitted to hospital when I was 30 weeks pregnant after having contractions, next thing I knew I received a letter stating that I was a carrier. No explanation of what this was was given in the letter and I panicked. When I asked my midwife she was very blas� about it, but I suspect she knew very little. I'm guessing that there are a lot of women that find out very late on in pregnancy or even after birth that they are carriers. Whilst I'm certainly no medical expert, I often do wonder if this had anything to do with Robert having an ASD, since one of the effects can be mental problems.

 

C.

[kirstie]

This is something i feel very strongly about. Having had stillbirth at 37 weeks just over 10 years ago (from cmv- which by the way i've since heard can be linked to autism.I asked lew's Paed as it was something i was concerned about if the cmv was still in my system could it have caused his AS but she said no, as he is high functioning) Anyway, i think as group B strep can be so dangerous to the newborn it is something that should be done routinely i can't really understand why it wouldn't be. I asked the same about the Cmv infection but was told it is very rare to have a stillbirth due to that and there was no vaccination and really it was more about scaremongering, people would be frantic when it's something that can't be prevented. It just makes me worry there is so much we don't know about in pregnancy that can have such devastating effect. As you can imagine being pregnant again it's such a frightening time and i do tend to worry the whole time............

[DaisyProudfoot]

I was a carrier during pregnancy - right up to the delivery date - however I had twins and only one is autistic