Our routine for a baby whose mother has a positive Gr B strep swab, but is
asymptomatic during labour is to send ear and groin swabs, a gastric
aspirate and urine for urinary latex (from baby)- all collected immediately
after birth.  Baby is observed, at mum's bedside, with vital signs being
done 3 hourly.  If they grow anything then the baby is treated with IV
antibiotics.  Mother has IV antibiotics during labour only.

If the mother is febrile during labour or has prolonged rupt. memb.  then IV
antibiotics are commenced immediately on the baby.  However, the baby
doesn't have a drip.  The cannula is bunged and we flush it q6h with saline
(2ml).  Generally we don't have problems with these babes feeding.  Again
the baby is cared for at the mothers bedside.  You may remember me saying in
a previous posting that we don't have a nursery for the general ward.  We
have a small Special Care Nursery, but these babies wouldn't go in there
unless they were showing signs of respiratory distress, sepsis, etc.  The
duration of Ab therapy is as everyone else has mentioned.

Perhaps suggesting to the paeds that the baby doesn't need IV fluids, only
IV antibiotics may solve your problem Arly.

With our Special Care Nursery it is only babies who need constant
surveillance (? sp) who go into it.  Babies under phototherapy and babies
who may need a drip for other reasons are cared for at the mothers bedside.
Again, there's no separation of mother and baby after any kind of birth,
unless the baby needs oxygen, etc.

It can be done when they want to.  Maybe they just haven't thought about it
- certainly a staff saving too.

For Kathy Braun,
We only do glucose sticks routinely on babies over 4,500g (about 10 lb) or
less than 2,500g (I think - little ones anyway) - even then we all encourage
them to feed, feed, feed before the paediatricians turn up!  And, credit
where credit is due, they do usually say to breastfeed if it is too low and
only comp if it hasn't come up after a breast feed.

It's a public hospital and circumcisions aren't covered publicly so we don't
do them  :-) . However, the last private hospital I worked in did and no we
didn't fast them.

Denise Fisher, RN, RM, IBCLC
from the best little hospital Down Under!