Bacterial vaginosis is a vaginal infection caused by an imbalance of the microflora population in the vagina. The imbalance is caused by a disruption in the bacteria population – bad bacteria (such as Gram-negative bacteria) outgrowing the good ones (such as Lactobacillus). As a result, symptoms such as abnormal vaginal discharge accompanied with fishy vaginal smell appears.

Although bacterial vaginosis can be considered a benign condition in non-pregnant women, this condition has been associated with many complications in pregnancy, including amniotic fluid infection, premature rupture of the membranes, preterm delivery and, possibly, spontaneous abortion.

So what are the common treatments for bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy? Most likely your doctor will give you with antibiotics.

The most common oral antibiotic given for bacterial vaginosis in pregnant as well as non-pregnant women is metronidazole. Normally one has to take the antibiotic for at least 7 days, two times a day. Depending on the dosage and regime, cure rates with metronidazole ranged between 54-96%.

Despite that metronidazole is known to be effective for bacterial vaginosis, it also has the potential to suppress the growth of good bacteria (e.g. Lactobacillus) if used in too high a dose. This is possibly why recurring bacterial vaginosis is not unusual despite antibiotic therapy. In fact, about 30% of women will experience bacterial vaginosis recurrence three months after they were ‘cured’ with antibiotics’.

The second common antibiotic treatment for bacterial vaginosis is oral clindamycin. It has been reported that a 300-mg, twice-daily course of clindamycin for 7 days resulted in a 94% cure rates. This reported cure rate, however, is based on studies involving non-pregnant women. Whether treating bacterial vaginosis with clindamycin is as successful in pregnant females remains to be ascertained.

In addition to oral antibiotics, topical antibiotics for bacterial vaginosis are also available, such as metronidazole vaginal gel and clindamycin vaginal cream. Topical antibiotics have been shown to confer considerably high cure rates, but only for targeting bacterial vaginosis infection of the lower genital tract.

While bacterial vaginosis has been reported to increase the risk of preterm delivery in pregnant women, whether antibiotic treatment is able to lower the complications risk of bacterial vaginosis in remains unknown.

Have you considered bacterial vaginosis natural cures?

Can you treat bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy with natural methods? For a large number of women, bacterial vaginosis home remedies help them get rid of bacterial vaginosis effectively. If you have bacterial vaginosis while pregnant and would like to try natural methods to treat bacterial vaginosis, make sure consult your doctor before you start using any.

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BV can affect any woman from age 15 to 44. In fact research shows that 1 in 3 women are likely to develop this condition sometime in their lives. However, pregnant women are at a high risk of being infected with BV.

Symptoms

Symptoms and signs of BV in a pregnant woman are similar to that in any other woman. However, some symptoms such as itching and burning sensation during urination can cause a lot of irritation and discomfort to a pregnant woman.

Other symptoms may include unnatural vaginal discharge which may be thin or thick, white or even pale gray. This discharge can have a fish-like smell. Sometimes women may also experience abdomen pain such as cramps in their stomach.

Pregnant women may mistake these pains to be part of pregnancy, but such signs and symptoms should not be overlooked and must be diagnosed immediately.

How does BV affect pregnant women?

Bacterial Vaginosis can be very harmful to pregnant women. If an expecting woman finds any signs and symptoms of BV, she should immediately consult her doctor and get treated. BV, if not treated can infect the uterus and the fallopian tube. This infection is known as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).

PID can lead to ectopic pregnancy which means where a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus and also rupture the fallopian tube.

BV in pregnant woman can be dangerous for both the mother and the kid. If left untreated, there are chances that the child will be delivered prematurely or babies with low birth weight.

Treatment

If a pregnant woman complains about unusual vaginal discharge, the doctors immediately diagnose it as BV by various laboratory tests. If the test results are diagnosed as BV then the doctor will start treatment for BV. Usually, the treatment would involve suppository or topical methods because pills or tablets may affect the baby.

A pregnant woman must always follow the directions given by the doctor and take appropriate care in administering the medication. If at all the medication causes any kind of discomfort, then it should be immediately reported to the doctor.

Personal hygiene is also essential to avoid having Bacterial Vaginosis. Though BV cannot be caused by toilet seats, or beddings, it is always advisable to avoid public toilets when pregnant to avoid any kind of infection that could be fatal to the mother and the baby.
Studies have shown that pregnant women are most commonly affected by Bacterial Vaginosis. Hence, there is nothing to panic if a pregnant woman notices foul smelling discharge or experiences itching and irritation in and around the vagina. However, these symptoms should not be ignored claiming them to be normal. Proper diagnosis and treatment should be administered to ensure a healthy mother and child.