Vaginal Infections during Pregnancy

Infections occur normally as part of our normal experiences, but the prevalence of vaginal infections during pregnancy is considerably high in comparison with other stages of a woman's life, including those who have experienced troublesome cystitis or thrush previously.

Vaginal discharge in pregnancy is common in most women and should not cause alarm, however when such white discharge presents odor, significant irritation, or becomes a green or yellow increased discharge, every woman should suspect an infection behind these symptoms.

Your doctor can evaluate vaginal secretions to diagnose vaginitis or any other yeast or bacterial infection. Although vaginal infections do not hurt the fetus, they can make pregnancy uncomfortable causing itching or vulvar irritation, leading to other risks to the mother-to-be and the developing baby.

Yeast infections in pregnancy are the most common because of the high levels of pregnancy hormones present in a woman during this stage. You can suspect this infection if you observe an increase in thick white discharge, irritation or redness of the outer vaginal lips, accompanied sometimes with severe itching.

This infection does not travel up into the uterus, or harm the baby in any way, but requires a treatment to relieve the associated symptoms, avoiding over the counter medication. A treatment prescribed by a physician is the only way to not exceed the dosage, leading to risks for the baby including birth defects.

Bacterial vaginosis, or BV, is the other common infection during pregnancy, resulting from an imbalance of the bacteria in the vagina, developing more of the bad bacteria, instead of the good lactobacilli. BV is an infection that does not exhibit symptoms, just a fishy odor usually noticeable after intercourse.

Any doctor can diagnose BV through a vaginal examination, as simple as checking the PH of the regular vaginal secretions or examined under the microscope a woman's discharge sample.

Bacterial vaginosis potentially increases the chances of premature rupture of the membranes and premature birth, so it is important to receive an examination and to be treated as soon as possible, including tests for women with high risk of getting infections, or giving birth prematurely.

Other common vaginal infections during pregnancy include trichomonas, commonly known as trich (pronounced trick). Trich is a sexually transmitted parasite that does not cause harm to the developing baby. This parasite can infect the vagina causing without any apparent symptoms, except in those women who notice changes in odor, discharge or increasing irritation.

However, trichomonas can change the PH balance of the vagina leading to bacterial vaginosis. Infection caused by trichomonas is treated with oral metronidazole after the first trimester, it is also necessary for the treatment of the woman's sexual partner to avoid other sexually transmitted infections.