Urination in pregnancy
You will spend a lot of time in the bathroom while you are pregnant. Find out what causes frequent urination during pregnancy, with tips for relieving the urge and preventing urinary tract infections.
In this article
- When you start urinating often
- Nighttime urination
- How to intervene
- Cystitis and Escherichia coli
Read also: Cystitis in pregnancy
Frequent urination in pregnancy: when you start urinating often
For many women, frequent urination is one of the first signs of pregnancy. Hormones stimulate the kidneys to expand and produce more urine, which helps the body get rid of extra waste more quickly. And as your baby gets bigger, his weight may press on your bladder, so you'll need to go more often. If you experience frequent urination in early pregnancy, you can thank the hormonal changes that increase urine output. Your uterus, which is normally the size of a fist, also grows and stretches to accommodate your baby. The enlarged uterus puts pressure on the bladder and contributes to the urge to pee.
Most women begin to experience temporary relief from frequent urination in the second trimester. This is because the uterus rises higher in the abdomen and away from the bladder. But this symptom will likely return in the third trimester. The baby descends lower into the pelvis in preparation for delivery, then puts pressure on the bladder again.
Nighttime urination
You may find yourself getting up to pee multiple times during the night. If this disturbs your sleep too much, try cutting back on fluids after 16pm. (make sure you drink the six to eight glasses of water you need a day before then). Also avoid coffee, tea, cola, and other caffeinated drinks. Caffeine can increase urination.
Keep a soft night light in the bathroom so you don't have to turn on the light in the middle of the night, and for safety reasons, also light your path from bed to bathroom with night lights.
How to intervene
During pregnancy, especially in the last trimester, you may also lose urine every time you laugh, cough, sneeze, lift something, or exercise. This is called stress incontinence and is partly caused by the pressure of your uterus on the bladder.
You may be able to prevent leakage by doing Kegel exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that surround the urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body). To do an exercise, squeeze and then relax those muscles as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine. Try to keep the muscles contracted for about 10 seconds, 10 to 20 times in a row, at least three times a day.
If you are leaking urine, panty liners may give you relief until the problem goes away. Report any persistent leaks to your doctor, in case it is amniotic fluid instead of urine.
Cystitis and Escherichia coli
While the endless urge to pee is annoying, you should never ignore it. Withholding urine can lead to a urinary tract infection. The pools of urine in the bladder are breeding grounds for bacteria that normally inhabit the gut, such as Escherichia coli. Less commonly, an infection can be caused by a bacterium called group B strep throat (GBS), which is a more serious condition that can make your baby very sick. It requires oral antibiotics during pregnancy and intravenous antibiotics during labor and delivery to keep the baby safe.
Typical symptoms are:
- Frequent urination
- Burning and pain when urinating
- Bloody urine
- A tender lower abdomen
Preventing cystitis
Among general measures to be taken in the case of cystitis there is primarily the good hydration: drink about 2 liters of water in 24 hours to dilute and remove any germs present in the bladder. It is also very important regularize the intestine resorting to a diet rich in slag - especially fruit taken between meals or before a meal. Lactic ferments by mouth and vaginally can also be used. It is important for intimate hygiene use an external wash with acid pH (between 3,5 and 4,5) and dry from front to back and not vice versa, using two separate wipes for the genital and anal areas, to avoid contamination of fecal bacteria.
Cystitis: the treatments
Generally cystitis caused by a bacterial infection is treated with antibiotics prescribed by a doctor. If you suffer from infectious or milder cystitis, it could be resolved without specific treatments.
Escherichia coli
The main symptoms of the infection are:
- Diarrhea, even with blood
- abdominal cramps
- nausea e vomiting.
No medication is able to protect against E. coli infection. Among the behaviors to adopt in order not to get infected:
- Avoid "risky" foods such as undercooked meat and unpasteurized milk.
- Wash raw food thoroughly.
- Wash kitchen utensils with hot water and soap before and after contact with raw meat and products.
- Use separate containers for each food.
- Wash your hands well before cooking, after being in the bathroom, after changing diapers, after touching animals.
Fonti articolo: Parents.com "All About Frequent Urination in Pregnancy", Humanitas.com
TAG:
- wellness in pregnancy
- escherichia coli in pregnancy
- cystitis in pregnancy
- urinary tract infection in pregnancy
