DUBAI – Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is the most common type of infection in pregnancy with an overall incidence of eight per cent, according to an expert.
Evidence shows that there are significant physiological changes occurring in pregnancy which predispose one to UTI, such as an increase in the volume of urinary bladder and decrease in the tone of urinary bladder in pregnancy favoring urinary stasis in urinary bladder, said Dr Humera Bint Raees, Specialist Gynecologist, Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah.
Similarly, 70 per cent of pregnant women pass glucose in their urine which again favours UTI. moreover, difficulty in maintaining good hygiene due to gravid distended abdomen and decreased intake of water, especially in the first three months of pregnancy due to nausea and vomiting are other predisposing factors for this common ailment, she said.
Urinary infection can be present without any symptom and bacteria are found in urine incidentally or it can be present with various symptoms. “Normally frequency of urine is one of the common symptoms of UTI. but in pregnancy, it is insignificant because the distended abdomen presses the urinary bladder and pregnant woman experience it without UTI,” said Dr Humera.
Other symptoms may be urgency to pass urine, inability to control urine, lower abdominal pain, and pain while passing urine or presence of blood in urine. “If untreated this infection may ascend to the kidneys and may present with nausea, vomiting, fever with shivering and pain in flanks which is a serious condition that necessitates an immediate intervention,” she added.
Untreated urinary infection in pregnancy can lead to low birth weight babies (preterm babies), developmental delay or mental retardation in newborns. On the other hand in mothers, it can lead to high blood pressure, anemia, preterm labor and infections of womb in pregnancy. during pregnancy, if urinary tract infection is confirmed during the routine screening of women, it must be treated promptly and eradicated completely, advised the doctor.
In this regard, an increase in oral intake of fluids up to three litres per day decreases incidence of UTI because of the flushing effect on bacteria present in the urinary bladder, said Dr Humera.
“moreover, intake of cranberry juice decreases the chances of UTI because it inhibits the stasis of bacteria in urinary bladder. The most important point is to take a course of regular antibiotic at least for seven days on the doctor’s advise, if the UTI is diagnosed.”
If the patient is suffering from persistent or recurrent urinary tract infection in spite of adequate treatment, the patient needs to undergo further investigations for upper urinary tract (kidneys and ureters) to rule out any other causes such as renal stones or other urinary tract abnormalities.