Contents:
- Medical Video: Female Bladder Leakage: Solutions to Get Control | UCLA Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Can you hold urine while pregnant?
- Why holding urine while pregnant can increase the risk of urinary tract infections?
- Symptoms of urinary tract infections during pregnancy
- Do urinary tract infections during pregnancy endanger the baby?
- Tips to avoid urinary tract infections while pregnant
Medical Video: Female Bladder Leakage: Solutions to Get Control | UCLA Obstetrics & Gynecology
Many pregnant women choose to hold urine while pregnant. Pregnant women may choose to hold urine for fear of being bothered or because they are lazy to go to the bathroom at night. However, can pregnant women actually hold back urination? Check out the answer below.
Can you hold urine while pregnant?
Restraining urine should not be done, whether you are pregnant or not. Why so? Withholding urine while pregnant can cause health problems, one of which is urinary tract infection (UTI). Pregnant women have risks higher for UTI. The more often holding urine or getting used to it, pregnant women will increase the risk of having a UTI during pregnancy.
Why holding urine while pregnant can increase the risk of urinary tract infections?
During pregnancy, women urinate more often. This is caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy, an increase in the amount and speed of blood circulating through your body, as well as the growth of the uterus.
Hormonal changes make blood flow to the kidneys faster and blood volume also increases by about 50 percent from the condition before pregnancy. As a result, it increases the filling speed of the bladder and urine volume which causes pregnant women to go back and forth to the bathroom more often.
The more detained, the bacteria will stay longer in the bladder and urinary tract of pregnant women. This can trigger bacterial breeding. This is what makes pregnant women more susceptible to UTI.
Symptoms of urinary tract infections during pregnancy
The characteristics of urinary tract infections during pregnancy include:
- Fever.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Pain or burning like burning when urinating.
- Colored urine cloudy, bloody, or pungent.
- More frequent urination.
- Pain in the pelvis, lower abdomen and waist.
- Pain when having sex.
Between 2 and 10 percent of pregnant women experience urinary tract infections. UTIs tend to recur during pregnancy. Women who have had a UTI before are more prone to get it again during pregnancy. The same applies to women who have given birth before.
Do urinary tract infections during pregnancy endanger the baby?
If urinary tract infections are not treated, this can cause kidney infection. Kidney infection can cause premature babies and low birth weight babies. If UTI gets treatment early, UTI will not harm your prospective baby.
Apart from being at risk for prospective babies, UTI during pregnancy can also endanger pregnant women. Reporting from Healthline, a pregnant woman who does not get treatment for UTI can experience UTI that is not diagnosed or called pyelonephritis. This condition can be a life threatening disease, both for mother and baby. This can spread to the kidneys and experience permanent damage.
Tips to avoid urinary tract infections while pregnant
To prevent the occurrence of urinary tract infections, do not hold back the urge during pregnancy Make a schedule for going to the toilet. For example every two to three hours. Too often holding back urination, can gradually weaken the pelvic floor muscles in the long run. In addition, there are a number of things you can do to avoid UTI, including:
- copy drink water, at least 2 liters per day.
- Avoid drinking coffee, tea, alcohol or carbonated drinks like soda because this type of drink will make you urinate more often.
- Take vitamin C, beta carotene, and zinc to fight infection.
- When urinating, empty the bladder completely.
- Clean intimate organs with the direction of washing from front to back, not vice versa.
- Avoid intimate relationships while doing treatment for UTI.
- Choose underwear from cotton and not too tight, and change underwear as often as possible.
