In this bonus episode, we wrap up our 2-part series on Group B Strep in Pregnancy, where I answer some of your questions following the first two episodes.

Here are the questions answered in this bonus episode:

1. Is it possible to retest between an initial GBS swab and going into labor? Are there things that can be done to get a negative test before labor occurs?
2. If you are GBS positive in one pregnancy, are you likely to be positive in subsequent pregnancies?
3. Discussion about an important limitation to one of the studies in our GBS update.
4. Discussion about risk factors and the “Other Risk Factor” approach vs the Universal Screening approach
5. Is there evidence for screening for GBS twice in the same pregnancy?

Make sure you listen to Part 1 and Part 2  to review the updated GBS research.

Resources:

• Listen to EBB 254: Group B Strep in Pregnancy Part 1 here
• Listen to EBB 257: Group B Strep in Pregnancy Part 2 here
• Listen EBB 87: Cristen Pascucci on How to Disagree on Birth Topics Respectfully! here
• Learn more about the use of antibiotics in labor in our Pocket Guide to Labor Interventions 

References:

• Parente V, Clark RH, Ku L, Fennell C, Johnson M, Morris E, Romaine A, Utin U, Benjamin DK, Messina JA, Smith PB, Greenberg RG. Risk factors for group B streptococcal disease in neonates of mothers with negative antenatal testing. J Perinatol. 2017 Feb;37(2):157-161. doi: 10.1038/jp.2016.201. Epub 2016 Nov 17. PMID: 27853322; PMCID: PMC5280520.
• Kabiri D, Hants Y, Yarkoni TR, Shaulof E, Friedman SE, Paltiel O, Nir-Paz R, Aljamal WE, Ezra Y. Antepartum Membrane Stripping in GBS Carriers, Is It Safe? (The STRIP-G Study). PLoS One. 2015 Dec 31;10(12):e0145905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145905. PMID: 26719985; PMCID: PMC4697801.

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.

Find us on: 

• TikTok
• Instagram
• Pinterest

Ready to get involved? 

• Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here 
• Find an EBB Instructor here 
• Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode, we're going to talk with Ruth Greene, birth doula, Evidence Based Birth® Pro Member, and Co-owner of Having a Baby in China Consulting Services, about the challenges of giving birth in a foreign country and how pregnancy and childbirth can unite us despite our unique cultural & lived experiences.

 

After the birth of her second baby in a local hospital in China, Ruth began volunteering to support other foreigners as they struggled to navigate an unfamiliar healthcare system. Ruth's passion drove her to seek formal training as a doula and childbirth educator. In May 2022, Ruth partnered with the creators of havingababyinchina.com to open an official Chinese company that offers breastfeeding, doula, and consulting services. Ruth’s clients hail from every corner of the earth, from South Africa to Brazil, to England, to Iran, and, of course, China. No matter the cultural or personal background, Ruth considers it an absolute privilege to be invited into the sacred space of pregnancy and birth.

 

Ruth shares her own experiences giving birth in China and how she came to find herself immersed in birth work and making a career of helping similar families navigate the process themselves. Ruth highlights the many differences and unique cultural traditions around having a baby in China, like the Zuo Yue Zi, or the “sitting month.” Despite the differences, Ruth has found that experiences of pregnancy and birth unite us all.

 

Resources:

• Check out Ruth's website here 
• Email Ruth directly at ruth@havingababyinchina.com
• Follow Ruth on Instagram - Having a Baby in China 
• Find Ruth on WeChat - ID: GirlTravelor
• Listen to her Podcast: Having a Baby in China 
• You can also find Having a Baby in China on WeChat from her podcast page linked above

Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!!

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.

Find us on: 

• TikTok
• Instagram
• Pinterest

Ready to get involved? 

• Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here 
• Find an EBB Instructor here 
• Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

In this episode we talk with Samantha Reisz, EBB Childbirth Class graduate about her experiences taking the class and preparing for a waterbirth in a hospital with her “Golden Ticket” birth team, who were skilled and prepared to manage a placental cord avulsion also known as cord snapping.
 
Samantha Reisz, she/her, is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Human Development at Washington State University in Vancouver, Washington, just outside of the Portland, Oregon area. She completed her bachelor's in Psychology and master's in Infant Mental Health from Mills College in Oakland, California when she first began studying childbirth. Samantha then earned her PhD in Human Development and Family Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied infant parent relationships and the transition to parenthood. Samantha is a passionate scholar and educator. After years of studying these topics academically, she finally was able to live her own research with the birth of her first child. Samantha lives in Vancouver, Washington with her baby, partner, and two dogs. 
 
Samantha shares how she prepared to give birth for the first time with the use of a doula who recommended the EBB Childbirth Course. Samantha and her partner planned for a waterbirth in a hospital with an OBGYN attending the birth. After experiencing the beautiful waterbirth she had desired, complications arose in the 3rd stage with a placental cord avulsion. Her “Golden Ticket Birth Team” was skilled and prepared to support her through this experience.

Content & Trigger warning: complications in the third stage of labor, active management of the third phase, umbilical cord snapping or avulsion, excessive blood loss

Resources:

• Find out more about Samantha’s work and research here.
• Find out about Scarlett Lynsky’s EBB Childbirth Education class here and listen to her EBB Podcast interview here.
• Read the EBB Sigature Article on The Evidence on Waterbirth here
• Read the EBB Signature Article on Eating & Drinking here
• Listen to the EBB Natural Induction series here
• Find out more about the Evidence on Nitrous Oxide in EBB Episode 15 here

Listen to all the EBB Podcast Episodes on Waterbirth and Cord Avulsion: 

• Find EBB 4 – Waterbirth and the Newborn Microbiome here
• Find EBB 11 – Evidence on: Waterbirth here 
• Find EBB 202 - A Fast First Time Birth Expereince with Childbirth Class Graduate, Haley Grachico here 
• Find EBB 223 – An Empowering Hospital Water Birth Story with Samantha Parker and Justin Fontaine here 
• Find EBB 230 – An Inspirational Home Waterbirth Story with EBB Childbirth Class Parent Shelitha Owens here

Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of the episode listed above!!

References:
 
Bovbjerg, M.L., Cheyney, M., Caughey, A. B. (2022). “Maternal and neonatal outcomes following waterbirth: a cohort study of 17,530 waterbirths and 17,530 propensity score-matched land births.” BJOG 129 (6): 950-958. Access the article here 
 
 Burns, E. E., Boulton, M.G., Cluett, E., et al. (2012). “Characteristics, interventions, and outcomes of women who used a birthing pool: a prospective observational study.” Birth 39(3): 192-202. Access the article here 
 
 Schafer, R. (2014). “Umbilical cord avulsion in waterbirth.” J Midwifery Womens Health 59(1): 91-94. Access the article here 
 
 Sidebottom, A.C., Vacquier, M., Simon, K., et al. (2020). “Maternal and neonatal outcomes in hospital-based deliveries with water immersion.” Obstet GYnecol 136(4): 707-715. Access the article here 

For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com.

Find us on: 

• TikTok
• Instagram
• Pinterest

Ready to get involved? 

• Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) here 
• Find an EBB Instructor here 
• Click here to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

• The “Other Risk Factor approach,”
• Alternatives to antibiotics for GBS, including Chlorhexidine and garlic,
• Vaccines,
• Probiotics,
• Topical use of human milk,
• Address frequently asked questions
• Review the Guidelines from 3 countries