GBS Meningitis

[jennthelvn]

I had posted this on another site, thinking I was here. It was a while back during a crying binge. This month marks a year that we lost our daughter and I wanted to post this here. I also want to say that we can all learn. I know that my nurses did everything they could, I love them as family even today, one special one in particular. I also know that, as a mother AND a nurse, we can all learn from our own mistakes, without passing judgement on to others. So, please, read and comment but I beg you nothing negative towards my nurses or myself.

I was a recently graduated nurse a couple of years ago. My husband and I decided to get pregnant and begin our family again (we have a 10 year old little boy). We had a healthy beautiful little girl that we were able to have in our lives for one whole month and an extra day. She had contracted late onset GBS meningitis and succumbed to the disease, 9 days later. The question I want to present to you fellow nurses (and parents) is WHY this disease is spoken of SO very little in the parent teaching community AND the nurse teaching community when it is the number ONE killer of infants in the US? I understand that if we talked about everything, we would be blue in the face three hours later on a well child vaccine visit BUT when it is the #1 killer and it isn't even mentioned??

Please remember this when you see your next infant parents in a vaccine room or even on your OB unit. I am a nurse and knew so very little of this killer that I was ashamed. I have educated myself now and will do so for others. I might not be able to go back to work yet but I will continue to share my knowledge.

Please share your ideas and views on this, I really do care.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

i am sooo sorry for your loss. :hug:. group b meningitis is rare... but it does occur. women should be tested prior to delivery and given antibiotics. i was gbs positive for both of my pregnancy. even though i was treated......i lived in constant fear those first few weeks of their of their little lives (they are 15 and 16 now).

of the 50% of infants born to gbs moms will be colonized. only 1-2% of those colonized infants will become ill. late gbs onset is one week to 90 days. once infected they become septic, and the mortality is high. these infants become critically ill quickly and their immature immune systems cannot fight the infection.

i have worked in emergency medicine for many years and gbs is one of the things we test for in a neonate (

it is no ones "fault", especially not yours,:hug: that this horrible event happened to your family. even when the mother is treated with antibiotics at delivery, the baby is watched closely, and it is discussed at every well baby visit......will not prevent gbs infection.

i am so sorry this happened to you. i will pray for your heart,and your families hearts to heal.

group b streptococcus (gbs or streptococcus agalactiae) is an encapsulated gram-positive diplococcus that colonizes the gastrointestinal and genital tracts of 15 to 40 percent of pregnant women. gbs colonization is usually asymptomatic. however, maternal colonization is the primary risk factor for gbs infection in neonates and young infants (younger than 90 days of age). vertical transmission generally occurs after the onset of labor or rupture of the fetal membranes.

group b streptococcus, also known as streptococcus agalactiae, was once considered a pathogen of only domestic animals, causing mastitis in cows. s agalactiae is now best known as a cause of postpartum infection and as the most common cause of neonatal sepsis. more recently, numerous series have described s agalactiae as a cause of infection in nonpregnant adults, providing descriptions of the clinical spectrum of disease, including clinical features, risk factors, therapy, and outcome of group b streptococcal infection in nonpregnant adults.

group b streptococci colonize the lady partsl and gastrointestinal tracts in healthy women, with carriage rates ranging from 15%-45%. neonates can acquire the organism vertically in utero or during delivery from the maternal genital tract. although the transmission rate from mothers colonized with s agalactiae to neonates delivered lady partslly is approximately 50%, only 1-2% of colonized neonates go on to develop invasive group b streptococcal disease.

neonatal group b streptococcal disease is divided into early and late disease. early group b streptococcal neonatal sepsis often presents within 24 hours of delivery but can become apparent up to 7 days postpartum. no specific clinical features differentiate early group b streptococcal disease from that caused by other pathogens. pneumonia with bacteremia is common, while meningitis is less likely.

late group b streptococcal neonatal sepsis is defined as infection that presents between one week postpartum and age 3 months. late disease commonly involves group b streptococcus serotype iii, typically characterized by bacteremia and meningitis.

the absence of antibody to group b streptococci in infants is a risk factor for infection.

medscape: medscape access i love medscape.

these following links will lead to medscape. medscape requires registration but it is free and is th best source/esource for information.

[color=#1122cc]neonatal meningitis treatment & management

[color=#1122cc]streptococcus group b infections

[color=#1122cc]streptococcus group b infections treatment & management

[color=#1122cc]group b strep - meningitis foundation of america

[tryingtohaveitall]

I am so, so sorry for your loss. Hugs