Strep B Holistic Approach
-by Gloria
Lemay. For more alternative treatments on
BirthLove, go
here. For a colloidal silver website, go
here.
The concern about Strep B involves two groups
at high risk of infection:
l. premature infants under 37 weeks gestation
2. any infant in utero with membranes ruptured
longer than l8 hours
Contractions are a possible indicator of infection
but this is a concern in weeks 0-36. After 36
weeks, Braxton Hicks are normal and a good sign
of a healthy, toned uterus getting ready to push
a baby out. Strep B in the vagina is not necessarily
illness-related. Just as we commonly have Strep
A in our throats on a swab and have no sore throat
symptoms, so from one day to the next can we all
culture positive for Strep B without any symptoms
or danger to our unborn babies. This is why many
practitioners refuse to test for it and simply
wait to test until such time as the above two
"at risk infant scenarios" show up.
One day you might test positive and the next be
negative. To treat with antibiotics before labour
would NOT be recommended. Your body could build
up a resistance to the antibiotics and so could
your babe's body. Then, if either of you got a
more serious infection after the birth, the antibiotics
might be ineffective. It can also lead to thrush,
vaginal yeast, and severe colic in the months
after birth.
I would advise you to do as many things as possible
to minimize your risk of ANY infections and maximize
your immune system. Some safe suggestions:
l. boost Vit. C in your diet e.g. eat 2 grapefruit
per day. Other good sources of Vit C : red peppers,
oranges, kiwi fruit.
2. Drink a cup of Echinacea tea or take 2 capsules
of echinacea every day
3. Get extra sleep before midnight. Slow down
your schedule.
4. Take 3 tsps of Colloidal Silver per day. Take
it between meals. Hold the liquid in your mouth
a few minutes before swallowing. Coll Silver can
be purchased in most health food stores.It is
silver suspended in water. It is antibiotic in
nature and safe in pregnancy.
5. Plan ahead for extra warmth after the birth
for both you and baby. Hot water bottles, heating
pads, hot packs, big towels dried in a hot dryer
during the pushing phase--will all help you and
baby keep extra toasty after birth and reduce
stress. Have a friend or family member assigned
to be in charge of the "Mother/baby warmth
team". The colostrum from your breasts is
the best antibiotic treatment your baby could
ever get.
5. Other good prevention tips: Keep vaginal exams
to a minimum--0 is best. Do not permit artificial
rupture of the membranes. Do not allow children
of other families to visit the new baby for the
first 3 weeks. Keep your older kids healthy so
they are not sneezing and coughing on new baby.
I hope this is helpful to you. I often think
that we must have had a lot of women who were
Strep B positive in the 800 or so births that
I have attended. We do not test unless we have
long rupture of membranes and/or a preemie. Once
the baby is born, we keep all women warm and baby
skin-to-skin with the cord intact (velcroed to
Mom) and, of course, all our mothers breastfeed.
I have never had a baby sick with Strep B in twenty
years.
To see how well colloidal silver worked for
a mom having her 7th baby (and first full term
pregnancy), see Etanna's
Birth.
More from Nancy McKay, childbirth educator:
To add to Gloria's regimen:
- Capsicum (cayenne pepper) is higher in vit.
c than any other known substance, *and* chases
bacteria and virus' from the body.
- Garlic! lots of garlic! antibiotic, antifungal,
antiviral- and lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
to boot.
- Take echinacea for only two weeks at a stretch,
with a break of two weeks. This stimulates your
body's own immune system w/out it becoming 'dependent'
on the herb to keep it in high gear. Don't take
echinacea (or St. John's Wort, or ginkgo) if
trying to conceive; they interfere
with the penetrability of the egg (sperm can't
get in)- also men shouldn't take under same
circumstances as their sperm is made less viable.
- Store colloidal silver in cool dark place,
away from anything metallic/mechanical (fridges,
microwaves/radios etc).
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