Aghhhhh

Hey, Beans

I haven't been online much since it's summer, so I know this reply comes too late for you (since your baby boy is here already!) But I thought I'd reply anyway in case it can help anyone else.

I opted NOT to have the strep B test, because of how my midwife explained it. She says that GBS is very common, and a large percentage of people (i think around 30%) have it at any given time with no symptoms. Also, it comes and goes, so if you have it today, you might not still have it in a week or two, and vice versa. She said they have to test 3 weeks before your due date, because it takes that long to grow the culture and get a result. But in 3 weeks, your status could change, so if you test positive, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll be positive at delivery, and if you test negative you might still develop in in the meantime before giving birth. So the results aren't very meaningful.

If you test positive (in Ontario, at least) you MUST deliver in hospital, hooked up to IV antibiotics, just in case. There's no way to test at the time of delivery if you're positive or not.  I opted not to have the test, since I was planning a home birth, and didn't want to have to go to the hospital for no good reason.

Even if you're positive, the risk of transmitting it during birth is very low. HOWEVER, group B strep is extremely dangerous if your newborn does get it, so it's definitely something to think very carefully about.

None of this really answers your question about antibiotics, though, lol. All this is just to say that in most cases, it's really nothing to worry about. My kids are both allergic to penicillin, and they've been given Biaxin for various infections, so I'm sure there's a standard alternative for GBS too.