Urinary tract infections or UTIs are common among pregnant women; so much so that up to 10 percent expectant mothers suffer from them at some point during their pregnancies. The hormonal changes during pregnancy make women more prone to urinary tract infections.
Also, the growing uterus presses against the bladder, preventing it from completely emptying the urine. This leftover urine becomes stagnant and causes infection. If a UTI is left untreated, it may result into kidney infections. It is all the more important to treat UTIs in pregnant women to avoid complications like the infection spreading to the kidneys and causing premature labour.
Tips to Deal with UTI during Pregnancy
If you have a pregnancy with UTI, consult your doctor to seek appropriate treatment that wouldn’t harm the baby. Also, you will need to pay special attention and care so that the infection doesn’t spread and make your condition worse. Here are some tips that you should follow along with your treatment to deal with UTI during your pregnancy.
Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking enough water is just not enough during a pregnancy with UTI. You might want to drink water that is more than enough for a person who isn’t pregnant and doesn’t have UTI. Water helps in flushing out all the bacteria through urine and relieves the symptoms of UTI. Increased water intake also causes frequent urination which again helps in flushing out the bacteria.
Don’t Self-treat Yourself
When you are pregnant and have urinary tract infection, you should be extra careful about what medications you are taking. After all, you are responsible for your baby’s health too. Never ever should you self-medicate yourself because it can lead to severe side-effects and complications for you and your unborn child. Talk to your doctor and take only the drugs that he/she prescribes. Also, stay away from DIY at-home treatments that your mother-in-law swears by. You never know what might react with your body and causes adverse effects.
Relieve Yourself When You Feel the Urge
Don’t hold your urge to urinate; it is a very important part of your treatment for a pregnancy with UTI. The frequency of urination increases during pregnancy, all thanks to the uterus pressing against the bladder. Doctors recommend not holding the urine when you feel the urge.
Maintain Proper Hygiene
Pregnant women’s immunity becomes weak and they are at a greater risk of developing infections, especially in their urinary tract. Proper hygiene shouldn’t be understated in any situation of life and during pregnancy, staying hygienic is crucial. Better avoid common bathrooms for reducing the probability of getting UTI.
Get Required Medical Attention
If you think that drinking enough water will take care of your pregnancy with UTI, you are worng. If you fail in getting proper medical treatments in time, it may lead to more future complications that may even put the health of the baby also under risk.
The good news is that most UTIs are easy to treat, even when you're pregnant. There are some medications that pregnant women must avoid, but most antibiotics are safe. Any gynaecologist will know which antibiotics to avoid, and the choice of antibiotic depends on a woman's allergies and what trimester of pregnancy she is in. There are many different safe options.
Image Courtesy: Getty
Read more articles on During Pregnancy.
All possible measures have been taken to ensure accuracy, reliability, timeliness and authenticity of the information; however Onlymyhealth.com does not take any liability for the same. Using any information provided by the website is solely at the viewers’ discretion. In case of any medical exigencies/ persistent health issues, we advise you to seek a qualified medical practitioner before putting to use any advice/tips given by our team or any third party in form of answers/comments on the above mentioned website.