Boy or girl? Who will the child look like the most? This question is usually asked by future parents in anticipation of a long-awaited replenishment in the family. There are also many other pleasant troubles and worries ahead: you need to have time to find a name, visit more than one store in search of suitable things. And it seems that nothing can overshadow the joy of the upcoming holiday. But it wasn’t there - in some cases, such a phenomenon during pregnancy as chlamydia can be observed.
What is this pathology and where can it come from? However, this is not the only issue that should worry. What is more important is what consequences it faces and how it affects the fetal development.
Overview
Chlamydia is a disease caused by the microorganisms Chlamydia trachomatis. Moreover, this pathology is not so rare. According to statistics, 10% of women become infected with chlamydia. This suggests that among all cases of genitourinary infections, this disease occupies a leading position.
Chlamydia in their structure resemble bacteria, and they live, as a rule, in the cell of the carrier, which is also characteristic of viruses. At the same time, the size of the microbe Chlamydia trachomatis is larger than the virus, but inferior to the size of the bacteria. For this reason, chlamydia is invulnerable, and treatment of chlamydia during pregnancy is not as easy as we would like.
A woman can become infected with this disease both during sexual contact and during the period of bearing a child. It proceeds unnoticed, and microorganisms begin to multiply only on the third day. As a result, the expectant mother may not even assume that uninvited guests have settled in her body.
Once in the cervical canal, later on, chlamydia freely penetrate the fallopian tubes, causing the development of salpingitis and endometritis. Subsequently, this leads to the appearance of various pathologies. After all, the body of a pregnant woman is very vulnerable.
Chlamydia trachomatis
Women are most susceptible to chlamydia, and infection in most cases occurs through sexual contact. Contact-domestic way, too, you can catch this infection, for example, when visiting a bathhouse, sauna, but in practice this is extremely rare.
Chlamydia trachomatis - pathogens of chlamydia during pregnancy - have special properties that allow them to remain in the shade for a long time:
- Not able to move independently.
- They can take a special form to wait out adverse conditions for successful development.
- At the time of weakening of the host's immunity, the pathogen feels this and begins to actively multiply.
- There are many variations of chlamydia, resulting in several varieties of the diseases they cause.
Without a doubt, Chlamydia trachomatis is the most dangerous enemy that can only settle in the human body, especially for all pregnant women! And here the main thing is to prevent infection, which is much easier than to undergo a course of treatment. Therefore, you should be vigilant!
The consequences of chlamydia during pregnancy
Chlamydia in a woman’s body can lead to a variety of complications, and symptoms are observed not only in the mother, but also in the child. Those children who are born from women with pathogens of Chlamydia trachomatis have a low body mass index, underdeveloped muscle mass and other severe illnesses.
Chlamydia begins to have a negative effect on pregnancy from the initial stage. The presence of microorganisms in the late gestation period can provoke spontaneous abortion.
Due to this risk, expectant mothers do not accidentally undergo screening three times during the entire period of pregnancy. This comprehensive examination includes blood donation for analysis, which allows you to detect the presence of an infectious disease, sexually transmitted infection.
Thus, during a timely visit to the antenatal clinic, it is possible to detect the presence of chlamydia in pregnancy in time, which will avoid the development of serious complications.
Symptoms of the presence of chlamydia in the body of a woman
The first signs of the introduction of chlamydia into the mucous membrane appear after some time, usually a period of from one week to three. In most cases, the pathology does not make itself felt to the woman, and the detection of pathogens, as a rule, leads her to shock.
Among the characteristic signs are unusual yellowish discharge, which is uncharacteristic during pregnancy. The mucus secreted is thick and has an unpleasant odor. In addition, itching and burning appear, and a woman may feel discomfort in the lower abdomen, pain occurs.
In those cases when the disease is already proceeding for a rather long period of time, the symptoms become more pronounced. This is the first sign that indicates the onset of inflammation of the genitourinary system. As a result, the appearance of urethritis, cystitis, adhesions in the appendages and colpitis. Below we will analyze the consequences of chlamydia and what kind of threat exists in relation to a mother with a child.
A threat to a pregnant woman
The appearance of symptoms of chlamydia in women during pregnancy can subsequently provoke the development of diseases not only of the genitals, but also of other systems. For example, the expectant mother does not exclude the occurrence of Reiter's disease, in which damage to the eyes, joints and genitals occurs.
Being in the blood of the female body, chlamydia contribute to the development of the immune response, as a result of which the antibodies, as protectors, begin to attack the cells of the joints and eyeballs, mistakenly perceiving them as foreign organisms. Actually, a sign of this is the ongoing inflammation of these organs. Typically, the syndrome can continue to develop even after recovery, as the tissues are attacked by antibodies, not microbes.
Another pathology that chlamydia causes is urethral stricture. Here we are talking about inflammation of the urethra, which can lead to the development of adhesions. Due to chlamydia in women during pregnancy, the mucous membrane of the urethra is replaced by scar tissue, as a result of which the lumen of the channel narrows. This may be partial or spread to the entire urethra. Treatment of this disease is carried out surgically.
Inflammation in the pelvic organs the penetration of chlamydia also provokes. For example, it is endometritis, salpingitis, oophoritis. If the disease has been going on for a long time, this also leads to the formation of adhesions. And as a result - pipe infertility.
In addition, there may be other diseases that occur only in men or women. But these cases are more common.
The effect of chlamydia on the fetus
There are several ways to infect a fetus:
- Intrauterine.
- Transplacental.
- Hematogenous.
Depending on how the infection got, chlamydia in an unborn baby can be different. Moreover, in each case, the inflammatory process begins also in its own way. During the course of chlamydia during pregnancy, the consequences for the baby are usually not the most rosy, as pathogens negatively affect the development of various organs and systems of the fetus.
Intrauterine infection
With intrauterine infection, the first thing that happens is the appearance of chorioamnionitis - inflammation of the membranes, which can result in fetal death or premature birth. However, this may not happen. In this case, microorganisms rush directly into the amniotic fluid, after which they penetrate directly into the fetus.
This is not so difficult, because the child makes respiratory reflexes and swallows infected fluid that enters the lungs. As a result, chlamydia easily penetrate into the intermediate tissues of the lungs, which leads to the onset of pneumonitis, when it enters the mucous membranes of the eyes - conjunctivitis, and damage to the intestinal membranes results in enteritis.
Due to chlamydia during pregnancy, the effect of infection on the baby continues after birth. When he takes the very first breath in his life, insidious microorganisms immediately rush to the alveoli. As a result, pneumonitis changes shape and develops into severe pneumonia. And since the amniotic fluid leaves the fetus through the genitourinary system, other organs (kidneys) become infected.
Transplacental infection
In this case, infection occurs through the placenta. Microorganisms freely penetrate the vascular system of the fetus, and in this case, the mucous membranes of absolutely all internal organs are at risk of infection. In particular, we are talking about such pathologies as:
- Meningitis.
- Pyelonephritis.
- Pneumonitis
This type of infection is dangerous because fetal death can occur regardless of gestational age.
Hematogenous infection
This type of chlamydia during pregnancy is a bit similar to transplacental infection, only chlamydia penetrate the body not through the placenta (in particular, it means through the vessels), but through the umbilical vein, and in much larger quantities. It can be said that this is the most dangerous infection, since the infection simultaneously penetrates the digestive, respiratory and urinary systems through the blood vessels and mucous membranes.
In this case, a tragic outcome is also possible - the death of the fetus, regardless of the period of gestation. In addition, the child does not exclude hemorrhage in the brain, kidneys, adrenal glands, lungs.
Diagnosis of the disease
As it is now clear, the disease is a serious threat to the mother and her child. Therefore, it is extremely important to timely detect the presence of pathogens at the stage of diagnosis and begin treatment of chlamydia in women during pregnancy. For this, various methods are currently used:
- Polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. It is the main way in which a woman has to donate blood for analysis. Those skilled in the art determine if the sample contains Chlamydia genetic material.
- Enzyme immunoassay. In this case, the presence of specific antibodies or antigens to a particular disease is determined, in this case, chlamydia. But since a healthy woman also has antibodies, the method is practically not used.
- Taking a smear from the vagina followed by the cultivation of microorganisms. This method is quite time-consuming, and therefore is not used so often.
- When using an electron microscope, chlamydia can be detected, but since the method requires high financial costs, it is relevant only for scientific research.
On the network of pharmacies, there are mini-tests on sale with which you can allegedly determine the presence of this pathology.
However, the accuracy of the results is only 20%, no more. For this reason, it is impossible to check the reliability of the symptoms of chlamydia during pregnancy by these means, and it is not recommended at all.
Treatment
For the appearance of a healthy and strong baby without any complications and pathologies, it is necessary that the mother is healthy. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of timely diagnosis and prophylaxis of those diseases that are transmitted with great ease from person to person.
It is impossible to conduct treatment alone with folk remedies and lifestyle changes for the better. Chlamydia refers to diseases of an infectious nature, so you can not do without a full course of therapy.
During pregnancy, the situation is complicated by the current situation, since a competent selection of the necessary drugs is required, which during the treatment of chlamydia will not have a negative effect on the fetus. To do this, the doctor must first conduct a comprehensive study, which will assess the general condition of the female body. In some cases, treatment for chlamydia in pregnancy may be delayed until the last trimester or the very birth of the baby.
Use of medicines
The basis of therapy is antimicrobial agents of the macrolide group. These antibiotics are a special type of medication that can destroy the microbes inside the cells. Therefore, it is a sure way to combat chlamydia. In addition, fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines have good efficacy. But for the treatment of pregnant women, only macrolides or phloxocins of the latest generation are allowed to be used.
In any case, pregnant women should not engage in self-medication, as this threatens an overdose, which in any case affects the fetal development.
As a complement
For treatment, it is necessary to use only those funds that the doctor prescribed, but as a supplement, you can use some other means. How to defeat chlamydia:
- For proper treatment, you need to take sick leave, because you need peace, which is very difficult to achieve at work.
- Maintain a proper and balanced diet.
- The need for vitamin preparations should be agreed with your doctor.
- Until a control result of PCR is obtained, one should refrain from intimacy.
- A woman’s partner should also be tested for chlamydia.
- Probiotics such as Linex, Hilak Forte and several others will help prevent side effects due to taking antibiotics.
All this will increase the effectiveness of therapy. Timely carrying out a full diagnosis and a full course of treatment will avoid serious complications. Even according to numerous reviews of chlamydia during pregnancy, everyone agrees that it is still necessary to treat this pathology.