How Urinary Tract Infection can affect your Pregnancy
What is urinary tract infection?
Urinary tract infection is usually a bladder infection which is accompanied by symptoms like constant urge to urinate and an uneasy and burning sensation when you do it. However, your bladder is not the only organ that is affected by this infection. Your urinary tract infection can extend from the kidney and also affect the urethras.
Why urinary tract infection is common in pregnant women
The risk of urinary tract infection is high in pregnant women from the sixth week of their pregnancy. One of the main reasons why urinary tract infection is high in pregnant women is because of the changes in the urinary tract. The uterus is directly above the bladder and when the uterus grows the increase in size and the weight of the bladder can affect the drainage of urine which can cause infection.
Symptoms of urinary tract infection
- Some of the symptoms of urinary tract infection include:
- Frequent urge to urinate
- Burning sensation when urinating
- Presence of mucus or blood in urine
- Disturbance when sleeping as you may wake up from sleep to urinate
- Discomfort during sexual intercourse
- Strong odor or foul smell from urine
- Pain in the bladder area
- If the infection spreads to the kidney, you can experience back pain, fever and vomiting.
How urinary tract infect your baby
When urinary tract infection is not treated, it can lead to infection in your kidney. Infection in the kidney can cause early labor and affect the weight of the baby. However, if the infection is treated early and properly, it does not affect the kidney and will not harm the baby.
Treating urinary tract infection during pregnancy
If you are suffering from urinary tract infection, you can approach your doctor who will prescribe medicines that will be safe both for you and the baby.
How to prevent urinary tract infection during pregnancy
Some of the steps that you can take to avoid urinary tract infection include drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day, reducing the intake of caffeine and alcohol, urinating frequently, cleaning the genital area after urinating and wearing cotton clothes.
Category: Pregnancy, Urinary Tract Infection