Bladder infection, also known as urinary tract infection (UTI), is a bacterial inflammation that occurs in the urinary tract. Women, who are pregnant, have more chances of incurring this infection, which generally starts anytime during the 6^th to 24^th week of their pregnancy. This infection is quite common during pregnancy. If it is not taken care of at the right time, it might worsen and can cause a severe kidney infection. Antibiotics are used to treat this infection and help in preventing further complications related to this infection.

What Are the Signs of Urine Infections in Pregnancy?

Have a look at the symptoms of the urinary infections during pregnancy.

• Asymptomatic Bacteriuria. This is a condition when bacteria exist in your urine, but aren’t causing any harm or symptoms.
• Cystitis. This is also known as bladder infection and commonly occurs in women. The signs of this condition are characterized by frequent urination and pain while urinating. You might also experience other signs, including pain in your lower abdomen, fever, and blood in your urine.
• Pyelonephritis. This is commonly known as a kidney infection. However, it is uncommon, but can take place due to a complication resulted by a cystitis or the asymptomatic bacteriuria. Symptoms of this infection include experiencing a terrible pain on the side of your abdomen lying above your kidney, nausea, vomiting, blood in urine, diarrhea and fever. You might also experience some of the symptoms of cystitis. At times, pyelonephritis only causes a feeling of sickness.

Apart from these symptoms, you might also experience a strange discomfort while urinating, mucus or blood in your urine, cramps in your lower abdomen, pain while having sexual intercourse, incontinence, chills, fever, sweating, cloudy and foul smelling urine, pressure, tenderness and pain in your bladder. Moreover, you might need to urinate more often than usual and experience a weird feeling of urgency to urinate frequently. You might also constantly wake up from your sleep to pass urine. If the bacteria have spread to your kidneys, you might suffer from chills, vomiting, nausea, fever and a strong backache.

Important Notes:

Having a kidney infection during your pregnancy can at times affect your baby and can cause an early labor or affect the size of your baby, resulting in a very small baby.

What Causes Urine Infections in Pregnancy?

Generally, the majority of urinary infections are caused due to bacteria that are produced from your own bowels. They don’t harm your bowels, but can cause infections that affect the other organs and parts of your body. Some of these bacteria lie in your anus after you have a bowel movement. They can travel to your urethra and enter your bladder. On the other hand, some of these germs live in your urine and multiply in it to cause different infections.

These infections compared to men more easily affect women. This is because the urethra in women is much shorter than that in men and opens up near their anus. Pregnant women are also more likely to be infected by these infections than non-pregnant women are. This is also due to the hormonal changes that take place in their body during their pregnancy. These changes affect their urinary tract and can slow down the flow of their urine.

How to Treat Urine Infections in Pregnancy

Treating the urinary infections attacking your body while you are pregnant is extremely important. You can diagnose by dipping an indicator stick into a sample of your urine. The stick will show a reaction to the red or white blood cells in the sample and change its color. RBCs show that there is a bleeding in the urinary tract, whereas WBCs show that there is an infection. Treating a urinary tract infection is quite simple. All you need to do is visit your doctor and take the full course of the antibiotics prescribed by him.

Here is a video to share more tips on treating urine infections in pregnancy:

How to Prevent Urine Infections in Pregnancy

Take a look at some more tips that can help you in preventing the onset of urinary tract infections during your pregnancy.

1. Keep a Good Hygiene

• Wash your legs and groin every day.
• Always pee when you get the urge to do so. Don’t hold your pee for long. Wipe your groin properly after you have urinated.
• Try to empty your bladder completely by leaning forward while urinating. 
• Clean yourself properly after having sexual intercourse.
• Shower frequently and avoid taking long, bubble baths, as they tend to cause irritation in your urethra. If you are taking a bath, ensure that the tub is clean and rinse it before bathing.
• Try to avoid using scented soaps, shower gels, antiseptic creams, scented bubble baths, douches and feminine hygiene products as these tend to harm the good bacteria in your body.
• Make sure to change your underwear every day and ensure that it is washed.

2. Drink More Fluids

• Increase your fluid intake and drink at least 10 glasses of water every day.
• Drink as much cranberry juice as possible as it helps in reducing the bacteria levels in your urinary tract. Studies have shown that women who use cranberry juice, or used cranberry supplements experienced less urinary infections compared to women who didn’t use these supplements.

3. Wear Comfortable Clothes

Wear undergarments made of pure cotton, as they are non-allergic. Wear loose and comfortable clothing and undergarments and avoid wearing tight jeans. Moreover, try not to wear tights, but if you have to, then wear a clean one every day.

4. Others

• If you are experiencing constipation, try to resolve it as soon as possible.
• Keep a check on the foods you eat and try to avoid eating extremely spicy foods as they can worsen your cystitis.
• Examine the color of your urine regularly. Check if it is dark, or doesn’t have the color of straw, take a test to check the presence of a urinary tract infection.