A pregnant woman undergoes numerous physiological and emotional changes throughout the course of her pregnancy. This is predominantly caused by hormonal fluctuations, which prepare the body for pregnancy for the full nine months.
As the body attempts to adapt to these new changes, the likelihood of developing a urinary tract infection increases considerably. Insufficient management of urinary tract infections will ultimately result in the development of kidney infection or pyelonephritis.
Pyelonephritis, a bacterial infection, is a condition that predominantly affects one or both of the kidneys. An individual may be suffering from either acute or chronic pyelonephritis, depending on the severity of their condition. During the acute pyelonephritis development, particularly in pregnant women, a severe kidney infection can occur abruptly. This condition is typically caused by abrupt fluctuations in hormone concentrations within the body, which may result in either an increase or a decrease in the concentrations of those hormones.
A doctor typically diagnoses a kidney infection in a pregnant woman after compiling all relevant medical history information. Your doctor may recommend the following diagnostic techniques:
To assess the severity of a kidney infection in your body, you may require a blood test, which can be performed by a doctor. A medication that can easily treat the infection will be prescribed to you after the doctor has collected a blood sample from you. Before this medication is administered, the infection won’t have progressed to a toxic stage that would require a kidney transplant.
Especially in the early stages, when symptoms are not present, kidney infections cannot be easily identified through visual examination. In order to assess the extent of this infection in your body, your doctor may require you to conduct a urine test. Your doctor will recommend a medication to treat your kidney infection based on the findings of these urine tests.
Your doctor may recommend an imaging test in place of a urine or blood test if it does not show any kidney infection during pregnancy. A urinary tract system obstruction that may be impeding the normal flow of urine can be found using an imaging test.
You need to treat a kidney infection in its early stages to prevent kidney failure, which may require a kidney transplant or dialysis. Routine medical evaluations are vital for pregnant women to ensure their well-being and the health of their unborn child.
Kidney Infections: What You Should Know
