Nine months of expectation of a baby’s birth is not only the most joyful period in a woman’s life, but also a difficult test for her body. The first and third trimesters of pregnancy are considered the most difficult and dangerous. The increase in fetal size, hormonal changes in the body, changes in the psycho-emotional state of the expectant mother are just some of the difficulties that most women experience.
Pain during urination in women during pregnancy is an unpleasant phenomenon, and in some cases dangerous to the mother’s health. Indeed, it is during the period of gestation that the female body is most vulnerable to various kinds of infections.
Causes of Pain Symptoms
Among the most likely causes of pain after urination during pregnancy, the following are noted:
- Changes in the hormonal background, especially in the first trimester, cause many unpleasant symptoms. These include discomfort during urination.
- Fetal pressure on a woman's bladder in the last trimester. This reason is physiological. It is associated with an increase in the weight of the child, who in the last weeks before delivery takes an appropriate position in the pelvic area, exerting pressure on organs located in the neighborhood. This phenomenon is not a pathology, therefore, does not require special treatment or special monitoring of the condition of a pregnant woman.
- Internal infections and inflammations, in contrast, are considered a cause for concern and require medical attention by a specialist.
Infection related diseases
The weakened immunity of a pregnant woman often becomes a target for all kinds of infections affecting the organs of the reproductive and excretory systems. As a result of this, diseases such as cystitis, urethritis, kidney diseases, as well as various genital infections (for example, chlamydia or candidiasis) develop.
When there are alarming symptoms, including pain during urination during pregnancy, it is important to exclude the most dangerous diseases for the child and future mother. To do this, you must consult a doctor in a timely manner and undergo an appropriate examination.
Genital infections
Meet in pregnant women is not so common. However, in the presence of some signs, herpes, trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, chlamydia or banal thrush (candidiasis) can be suspected.
As a rule, diseases of the reproductive system are accompanied by symptoms such as: pain in the lower abdomen, itching and swelling in the vulva, abundant vaginal discharge, different from normal. At the same time, as with diseases of the excretory system, a woman experiences pain during urination during pregnancy.
Kidney disease
In rare cases, such sensations arise due to exacerbation of diseases of the organs of the excretory system. In particular, if a woman has renal pathologies. In such cases, pain in the lower abdomen during urination during pregnancy is associated with the release of sand and small stones from the kidneys. Future mothers with similar pathologies are constantly monitored by specialists and receive treatment appropriate for the disease.
Cystitis and urethritis
More often in pregnant women cystitis is observed - inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bladder. However, as a complication can develop and urethritis. The causative agents of this disease are bacteria: gonococcus and ureaplasma.
The characteristic signs of urethritis are:
- burning sensation after the end of the urination process;
- frequent urination;
- cutting pain;
- change in the appearance of urine (red tint, the presence of mucus and flakes);
- pain in the lower abdomen on the right.
Signs of bladder inflammation are very similar to signs of urethritis. Typically, cystitis is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- pain during urination during pregnancy;
- the impossibility of containing urine when urinating;
- sensation of itching and burning in the urethra;
- clouding of urine with the appearance of a sharp unpleasant odor;
- false sensation of a full bladder.
The main causes of inflammation
Since cystitis is the most common cause of pain during urination during pregnancy, treatment and prevention of this disease require special attention.
Among the most likely causes of the inflammatory process in the bladder are the following:
- hypothermia of the body;
- damage to the mucous membrane of the organ;
- eating fatty, spicy and too salty foods;
- chronic gynecological and venereal diseases diagnosed in a pregnant woman;
- internal infections of the body;
- unprotected intercourse;
- non-compliance with hygiene rules.
In most cases, a pregnant woman develops cystitis as a result of prolonged exposure to cold or sitting on cold surfaces.
Diagnosis of the inflammatory process in the bladder is carried out by the following procedures:
- Cystoscopy is a method for examining the inner surface of the bladder using an endoscope.
- PCR analysis (polymerase chain reaction) is a molecular genetic method for the diagnosis of infectious and hereditary diseases.
- General and biochemical analysis of urine.
- Ultrasound examination of the urethra and internal organs.
- A swab for an STI is a laboratory study of secretions from the urethra and vagina, which helps to detect the presence of bacterial infections in the body.
Based on the data obtained as a result of the examination, the specialist decides on the appointment of certain therapeutic measures.
Therapeutic treatment
To eliminate unpleasant symptoms, complex treatment is prescribed depending on the individual characteristics of the female body, including medications with antibacterial effects, a set of vitamins, and, if necessary, antibiotics.
In addition, pain during urination during pregnancy is eliminated with enemas, body wraps, compresses, and also through the appointment of a strict diet that restricts the use of certain types of products.
In some cases, a patient is placed a catheter for urine diversion, and a complex of special physical exercises is prescribed, developed taking into account the condition of the woman and the disease diagnosed in her.
In addition, in the treatment of cystitis, doctors recommend a warm, plentiful drink.
Non-drug treatment
Most traditional medicine does not cure, but helps to eliminate the symptoms of the disease. If during urination the lower abdomen hurts during pregnancy in parallel with traditional therapeutic methods, the doctor may prescribe additional procedures in the form of washing the external genital organs with infusions of chamomile or calendula. In the later stages, due to the large size of the abdomen, a woman has problems with intimate hygiene. In such cases, the washing process can be replaced with baths with infusions of similar herbs or using a weak solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate).
In addition, for the treatment of diseases of the organs of the excretory system, if the stomach hurts when urinating during pregnancy, the following folk remedies are used:
- Feet warming in hot milk.
- Thermal procedures in the pelvic area, for example, heating with red-hot bricks. The heated brick is placed in a bucket, on which a sick woman sits and wraps herself up to the waist from below. However, warming up is not allowed for all pregnant women. Before using this method of treatment, you should always consult your doctor.
- The use of a decoction of herbs, for example, this: a collection consisting of equal parts of St. John's wort, dill, knotweed, thyme and parsley is poured with two hundred milliliters of boiling water and infused. It is recommended to take such a decoction three times a day in half a glass.
- In addition, lingonberry possesses known medicinal properties in the fight against diseases of the genitourinary system, which can be consumed in its natural form or brewed in pharmacy lingonberry leaf.
Symptom Prevention
If cystitis is seasonal or chronic, urologists recommend a number of rules to prevent pain during urination during pregnancy. Among the standard preventive measures recommended for compliance with women in the situation, the following are noted:
- Regular personal hygiene in accordance with established rules.
- Wearing clothes and shoes according to the weather. If it is damp and cold outside, the clothes should be warm and the shoes waterproof.
- Exclusion from the diet of a pregnant woman provoking cystitis products.
- The correct selection of underwear (it is better to change synthetics to cotton fabrics).
- Timely examination by a gynecologist.
- Regular observation by a specialist if the ailment has the property of returning from time to time.
- Gentle physical activity, consisting of walking and special exercises for pregnant women.