Group B Strep

It's just really, really unlikely that your baby has it. Not sure what you're envisioning by testing the baby "in utero", but getting a blood sample from a fetus involves a much much higher risk to the baby than she has of being infected with GBS. Even testing the amniotic fluid for infection (which I think would indicate at least a high risk to the baby but not certainty of her being infected) involves risks which probably aren't warranted, again since she's just so unlikely to be infected. It is very likely that you've already passed antibodies to GBS to your baby and she's protected, even without antibiotics! Only 1-2% of babies WITHOUT treatment end up getting infected.

My understanding is that GBS causing stillbirth with intact membranes is just exceptionally rare. You've probably faced higher risks of problems to baby or yourself during your pregnancy from other causes, like placental abruption or the risk of getting pre-eclampsia, GD, or baby having genetic problems. I hope Cathie doesn't mind if I answer, because I know a little of her story. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) The baby she lost to GBS was very likely lost because she had ruptured her membranes and it was not detected by her providers, even though she went to the hospital and they tested the fluid, it didn't show that it was amniotic fluid. So her baby was exposed to the infection for a long time, and I think (not sure) that she hadn't even been tested for GBS yet. I don't know how often it happens that ROM is misdiagnosed.

About oral and IV drugs- I'm not a medical person, but my understanding of the way IV works is that it goes quickly and directly into your bloodstream, producing a higher concentration of the dose much more quickly than an oral, so oral drugs would not do much during labor- it takes them too long to start working. Not sure if I'm getting at the concern behind your question, though.

One thing you might do to feel a little more empowered about all of this is to explore possible "alternative" remedies that you could do right away that have the possibility of eliminating your infection. I've read a bit about a chlorhexidine wash around the vulva, (maybe it's a douche? I'm not sure) - it seems to be popular in Europe and there is some evidence for its efficacy. I don't know if it's been tested for safety, though, nor any of the other alternatives. I'll put a post up asking about alternatives! I'm curious myself! I wouldn't recommend the alternatives replacing antibiotics, just adding to them, to help you feel like there's something you are doing which could help in the mean time.

Good luck, I really hope you can feel better about this, I know the scary stories can sometimes just stick in your head, in spite of knowledge that they are so rare!

Elaine