Bacterial Vaginosis and Pregnancy – How To Avoid and Control Bacterial Vaginosis During Pregnancy

Bacterial vaginosis and pregnancy are two issues that together can actually cause some serious health concerns for the woman and the unborn baby. This is because the bad bacteria in the vagina which is responsible for this infection, may spread to the uterus through blood circulation and potentially harm the unborn baby. According to medical statistics, about 15-20 percent of pregnant women are likely to be infected with bacterial vaginosis.

Bacterial vaginosis is an infection that results from the overgrowth of bad bacteria in the vagina. A normal healthy vagina contains both good and bad bacteria, but when the bad or harmful bacteria rapidly multiply and outnumber the good or beneficial bacteria, then this imbalance triggers the infection to set in. A foul fishy odor and greyish white vaginal discharge are the most common symptoms of this disease. Other symptoms include vagina itching, swollen vagina and in rare cases painful or difficult urination.

Unfortunately, many of these symptoms are similar to symptoms of other infection of the reproductive system such as yeast infection or trichomoniasis as well as other infections which are common during pregnancy. As a result of this, bacterial vaginosis is often undetected or mistaken for other infection during pregnancy. Untreated bacterial vaginosis in a pregnant woman may result in premature delivery and low birth weight. Other problem that may be caused by the infection is entopic pregnancy if the womb or fallopian tubes have already been infected and damaged before conception.

In order to avoid bacteria vaginosis during pregnancy, the following steps are very important;

1). If you are at risk of developing this disease, you should consult a doctor and be tested when you are planning a pregnancy.

2). If you are already diagnosed with the infection, you should be regularly tested before getting pregnant.

3). Ensure that you are completed cured before getting pregnant.

The above mentioned tips will ensure early diagnosis before pregnancy and this will provide you with access to treatment as early as possible. If you are diagnosed with this infection, proper treatment should begin immediately and make sure that you are cured before you become pregnant.
The doctor can recommend various types of treatments depending on the age of woman, stage of pregnancy and severity of the infection. Usually, antibiotics are often prescribed to cure this infection, which may be oral or topical. It is very important that you take your medications as prescribed by your doctor.

In addition to medication, you can also engage the use of natural cures to control this disease during pregnancy. These natural cures are very simple to use, inexpensive and more importantly there are no risk of side effects to the mother and the fetus.