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In prenatal care , it is common for many women to complain about vulvovaginitis and sexually transmitted diseases, which are infectious diseases that affect the female genital region. One of the most common is gonorrhea. Learn how to identify and treat this disease in pregnancy .
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by an infection by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and is characterized by the abundant presence of pus in the affected area. The bacteria can reach any mucosa just by skin-to-skin contact: mainly in Organs genitals, but also in the throat, eyes or joints.
The main form of contamination in women is through vaginal , oral and anal sex without a condom, or through contaminated objects used during intercourse. If the woman’s partner is infected and passes the disease on to her partner, both should be treated at the same time and avoid sexual intercourse until they are cured.
Even after the disease has been treated, the woman can contract it again if she contacts someone again infected with the bacteria responsible for the disease.
Signs of Gonorrhea
Symptoms of gonorrhea may vary depending on the infected area. In the most common cases of infection in the vagina, cervix or urethra, the most recurrent symptoms are purulent discharge , burning and pain when urinating, bleeding and pain during sex. If the infection is anal, it is more likely to feel itchy in the area, and pain when pooping.
However, gonorrhea often does not cause any symptoms in women for a few weeks or months, especially if the infection is located in the cervix .
Main Symptoms
When symptoms appear, the most frequent are:
- Burning when urinating
- Frequent need to urinate
- Itching and burning in the vagina
- Vaginal discharge with pus
- Severe abdominal pain
- Sore throat (when the infection is in the throat)
- Pain and bleeding during sexual intercourse
- Fever and general malaise (when the infection develops and reaches the tubes and ovaries)
- Vaginal bleeding outside menstruation
Effects of Gonorrhea on Pregnancy and Childbirth
Women who suffer from gonorrhea during pregnancy can have certain consequences. The rate of involuntary abortion in patients with gonorrhea is higher. There is also a risk of infection of the amniotic fluid (transmitting the disease to the baby), of premature delivery and of “premature rupture of membranes” (when the water bag , of amniotic fluid, is ruptured). However, when looking for a doctor and the appropriate treatment, the risk of these problems appearing is reduced.
If gonorrhea is not treated by the time of delivery , the pregnant woman may pass the bacteria to the baby. In these cases, an external infection , called gonococcal conjunctivitis , can occur , especially in the baby that is born by normal delivery , since it passes through the vagina where the infected secretions exist and this contact greatly increases the chance of infection.
If the treatment is not done properly or if the diagnosis is too late, even serious complications can arise in women, such as infertility .
Is Gonorrhea Cure?
Yea! To treat gonorrhea during pregnancy, doctors prescribe antibiotics to the pregnant woman to be taken for a period of time that may vary according to the type and severity of the infection. Generally, if the disease is detected early in pregnancy, and the affected area has not evolved beyond the genital region, the most used treatment is only a single dose of the antibiotic, with no risk for the baby.
As gonorrhea can cause complications to the health of the pregnant woman and the baby, it is important to take the treatment to the letter and that the partner is also treated. The couple in this situation should avoid sexual intercourse while the infection is not treated, in addition to adopting the use of condoms throughout pregnancy.
Gonorrhea Treatment Medicines
Some options for antibiotics for gonorrhea are as follows:
- Penicillin;
- Ofloxacin;
- Tianfenico granulado;
- Ciprofloxacin;
- Ceftriaxona intramuscular;
- Cefotaxima;
- Spectinomycin.
IMPORTANT: Antibiotics should not be used on their own. Consult your doctor and only buy the medicine in authorized pharmacies with a prescription.
To complement the medication treatment of gonorrhea, a natural recipe is to drink the thistle tea, enriched with copaiba oil. This is because both thistle and copaiba have natural antibiotic properties, helping to fight bacterial infections such as gonorrhea. The Jaborandi tea is another good tip treatment.
Another thing that can help is to adopt a diet with less industrialized products, rich in liquids and composed of diuretic and blood purifying natural foods. Avoiding condiments and others that cause irritation, such as cow’s milk, is very important to avoid pain in the urethra during urination, for example.
Gonorrhea – Data and Prevention
To avoid contracting gonorrhea during pregnancy, it is very important that future mothers preserve themselves during sexual intercourse during pregnancy, using barrier methods, such as condoms, with sexual partners. The use of this method not only helps to prevent gonorrhea in pregnancy, but also numerous other sexually transmitted diseases that pose risks to pregnancy.
The risk of transmission of infection by gonorrhea bacteria is greater than 90% , and the fact that some women are asymptomatic does not change the risks in pregnancy. Even in the case of asymptomatic men, their disease is still transmitted to female partners, and must also be treated.
Care must still be doubled in the case of women who use the Intrauterine Device (IUD), as there is a risk of silent infections and the spread of asymptomatic gonorrhea to the tubes and ovaries.
See Also: Cervical Infection – How To Find Out?
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
