URINE INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY, IS IT DANGEROUS?

If you have reached this post you are most likely to be pregnant or your partner or wife is. So first of all, let me give you the congratulations and wish you the best things for the future. Having said that, it’s important to know that there are a number of risk factors for urinary tract infection or cystitis in pregnancy, such as being over 30 years old, the number of pregnancies (especially after 4 years), a higher incidence in black women with sickle cell anemia, diabetes, morphological and functional alterations, as well as those women who have suffered pre-pregnancy infections.

It’s important and imperative to carry out a microbiological control of the urine in the woman during pregnancy for the early detection of this disease. The treatment is necessary, whether or not you have symptoms to avoid possible complications.

Cystitis represents a complication in 0.3% to 1.3% of pregnancies, being more frequent in the second trimester.

The presence of bacteria in the urine without untreated symptoms during pregnancy leads to 25% of cases of pyelonephritis, which means not only an increased risk to the fetus but can also threaten the mother’s life, leading to a septic “shock”, transient renal failure, or hematologic abnormalities.

The administration of antibiotics during pregnancy is very frequent, being among the ten groups of the most used drugs. It’s very important to choose the right drug during the state of gestation. The response to treatment in pregnant women is similar to that of other women, except that high doses increase the toxic effect, because during pregnancy the liver is more sensitive to agents that decrease protein metabolism.

The complications of urinary tract infections during pregnancy in the mother are:

• Increased anemia
• Increased blood pressure
• Decrease or damage in kidney functions

Complications in the fetus are:

• increased mortality (especially in the last 15 days of gestation)
• increased prematurity
• increased infections
• mental retardation
• developmental delays
• dorsal fusion defects

Don’t be alarmed if you have a follow-up during pregnancy, and in case you caught urine infection you can treat it as soon as possible to avoid any type of complication.