Introduction
Urinary tract infections during pregnancy mainly affect the lower urinary tract, such as the urethra or bladder. With the right drug treatment, the symptoms usually subside within a few days. For pregnant women or the growing child, the risk is primarily that the infection will ascend into the renal pelvis or the complications associated with it, such as impaired renal function or blood poisoning.
Causes
Women in pregnancy are more often affected by urinary tract infections. This is caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy, which can lead to a dilatation of the ureter and thus promote bacterial infections. The infection usually causes typical symptoms such as burning or pain when urinating. In a few cases, a urinary tract infection can also present itself without symptoms. As a rule, infections in pregnant women without symptoms are detected by a urine test carried out at regular intervals by the treating gynaecologist.
Diagnosis
Often the typical symptoms, such as burning or pain when urinating, are sufficient to diagnose a urinary tract infection. If a urinary tract infection is suspected, a urine test is carried out by the doctor. Here, the physician looks primarily for “infection-typical” parameters. These include bacteria, nitrite, a metabolic product produced by bacteria, leukocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system and are excreted in the urine in the case of inflammation in the urinary tract, and occasionally red blood cells.
Symptoms
Typical symptoms of a urinary tract infection include burning or pain when urinating. Furthermore, a urinary tract infection is often combined with an unpleasant urge to urinate and/or the feeling of an incompletely emptied bladder after going to the toilet. In case of complaints such as fever or flank or back pain, an extension of the urinary tract infection into the renal pelvis should be considered.
At the latest then a visit to the doctor is strongly recommended. Pain when urinating is a typical symptom of a urinary tract infection. It occurs mainly during urination and is often described by those affected as a “burning sensation”. There may also be pain in the flanks or back. However, these are typical for inflammation of the renal pelvis, i.e. an already extensive infection of the urinary tract infection into the renal system.
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