Gonorrhea in pregnancy treatment. Gonorrhea in pregnant women: treatment, symptoms, consequences. The causes of gonorrhea

For the first time they started talking about the disease back in 1879, but to this day she can be terrifying, especially if the diagnosis was made to a woman during pregnancy.

The thing is that infection of a pregnant woman entails a lot of serious consequences and complications, until the death of the fetus.

In order to protect herself and her future baby, a woman must strictly follow the doctor's recommendations, take all the necessary, and, if necessary, immediately begin treatment.

What do you need to know?

Gonorrhea occurs in two main stages:

  1. Sharpwhen the duration of the presence of gonococci in the body is less than 2 months.
  2. Chronic, in which the bacterium is present in the body for more than 2 months.

There is also a more extended classification of the disease:

  • latent (latent) gonorrhea, in which the disease is asymptomatic, causing an invisible blow to the body of its carrier.

    This type of gonorrhea has recently been encountered more and more often and is the most dangerous, especially for a pregnant woman, since treatment is not timely, and the infection can harm the course of pregnancy in a short period;

  • chronic gonorrhea, in which local (focal) development is observed. In the place of accumulation of bacteria, scarring of tissues occurs, and, as a result, formation;
  • fresh, the signs of which appear no later than 60 days after infection.

In its turn fresh gonorrhea divided into:

  • torpid - does not manifest itself clinically, but is diagnosed by laboratory methods;
  • subacute - manifested by abundant discharge from the urethra, but the patient does not feel pain and discomfort;
  • acute - along with urethral discharge, there is a sharp pain, burning sensation and other discomfort during urination.

Varieties

By the nature of the clinical manifestation, gonorrhea is classified into:

  • urogenital - affecting the organs of the genitourinary system;
  • pharyngeal - localized in the oral cavity and on the pharyngeal mucosa;
  • gonococcal conjunctivitis - infection of the organs of vision;
  • proctitis - damage to the rectal mucosa.

As a result of infection with blood gonococci, damage to the nervous system, joints, respiratory tract can occur, as well as the development of cardiovascular pathologies.

Causes of the disease

Infection with gonorrhea can occur both during and before pregnancy. Usually, the cause of the disease is unprotected sex with a virus carrier.

Cases of infection with gonorrhea when using someone else's towels, when visiting a bathhouse, etc. are very rare.

Gonorrhea - the program "Health with Elena Malysheva"

Diagnostics

Symptoms

In 80% of cases, gonorrhea during pregnancy is asymptomatic, minor discharge and painful sensations are often associated by women with physiological changes during the bearing of a child.

However, the remaining 20% \u200b\u200bnote the following symptoms:

  • pulling;
  • rapid, painful;
  • vaginal discharge of varying consistency, yellow or green;
  • smearing spotting, and sometimes from the genitals.

Why is gonorrhea dangerous?

For mother

The chronic course of the disease may worsen. At the same time, very there is a high probability of getting gonococci into the blood (sepsis).

Women who become infected in the second half of pregnancy are prone to developing gonococcal arthritis.

For baby

Gonococcus is not able to cause pathologies of fetal development, however the presence of bacteria "in the neighborhood" is extremely unsafe.

If a woman gets infected in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, then the gonococcus causes an inflammatory process in the uterus, and this may result in spontaneous abortion or.

When bacteria enter the body of a pregnant woman in the second 20 weeks intrauterine infection of the fetus occurs, which is manifested by sepsis (gonococcal) and an inflammatory process in the membrane of the fetal bladder (chorioamnionitis).

The latter leads to early rupture of amniotic fluid and.

Infection of the baby can occur and during its passage through the birth canal. In this case, the eyes of the newborn are affected, which can lead to complete blindness in the future.

Girls may have genital gonorrhea. For prevention purposes immediately after birth the eyes and genitals of absolutely all newborns are treated with a 30% sodium sulfacil solution, repeating the manipulation again after 2 hours.

Is the disease contagious?

Disease is contagious and is transmitted sexually from an infected partner and from a sick mother to her child.

Treatment

At the first suspicion of infection with gonorrhea, a pregnant woman must consult a local gynecologist or venereologist.

After an external examination, the doctor will take a swab from the vagina for a flora test. If gonococci are found in the material, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment.

Medicines

When gonorrhea is detected, pregnant patients are prescribed single dose of Ceftriaxone as an intramuscular injection at a dosage of 250 mg.

Since gonorrhea often occurs in conjunction with, in addition recommended oral administration of Erythromycin at a dosage of 500 mg... The frequency of admission is every 8 hours for 7-10 days.

With the development of gonococcal sepsis, Ceftriaxone is administered intravenously or intramuscularly, 1 g per day for 7-10 days.

If a pregnant woman is observed to the above antibiotics, carry out Spectinomycin therapy... Spectinomycin is capable of negatively affecting the fetus, providing an ototoxic effect.

In order to prevent conjunctivitis caused by gonococci, newborns treat their eyes with 0.5% erythromycin or 1% tetracycline ointment.

Folk remedies

Treatment of this disease traditional medicine methods are unacceptable! The destruction of the pathogen is carried out only with antibiotics and strictly under the supervision of a specialist!

The patient needs:

  • exclude sexual contacts for the entire period of treatment, until complete recovery;
  • observe the regimen of taking prescribed medications (without violating the time regimen and dosage);
  • timely come to an appointment with a specialist to determine the degree of recovery.

After the therapy, it is necessary conduct repeated laboratory tests of the smear. This event is held three times for control.

A woman is healthy if her culture is negative within 3-4 months after drug treatment.

Diet

During treatment, the pregnant woman should exclude from the diet spicy, salty, smoked foods, spices and herbs.

Complications and consequences

There are many of them.

In addition to the risk of fetal death, a woman with gonorrhea is prone to developing inflammatory diseases of the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, as well as further infertility.

The advanced cases often end with the generalization of the infection: infection of the joints, blood and inflammation of the peritoneum (peritonitis).

Prevention

Preventive measures, both for pregnant women and for other people, are the same:

  • elimination of casual sex and the use of a condom. Only a condom is a barrier to infection on the way into the body;
  • processing of external genital organs with warm soapy solution and Chlorhexidine solution;
  • the use of vaginal suppositories;
  • when treating one of the partners, the second must necessarily pass the appropriate tests and, if necessary, also begin treatment;
  • if there is more than 1 sexual partner, an annual examination by a venereologist is necessary.

Observing these rules you can save yourself and your future baby from this dangerous and very unpleasant disease.

Remember, if even the slightest suspicion arises - do not postpone a visit to a specialist... Early diagnosis and timely treatment will help avoid dire consequences.

A sexually transmitted disease caused by a gonococcus, which is shaped like a coffee bean. This bacterium lives in the mucous epithelium of the urogenital organs, in the oral cavity, on the ocular membranes and in the rectum.

The detection of this disease while carrying a child scares pregnant women, since the consequences can be quite serious. But first of all, it depends on at what stage of pregnancy the woman contracted gonorrhea.

The peculiarity of this disease is that it affects almost all reproductive organs to varying degrees, and with prolonged development in the body it spreads to other systems, penetrating into the urinary structures, into the intestines, the epithelium of the larynx, etc.

According to the international classification of diseases, the disease is classified in heading A54 as gonorrhea causing complications of pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium (O98.2).

The danger of gonorrhea lies in the fact that the general clinical picture often resembles an exacerbation of urological inflammation, which often occurs during childbearing. A woman may decide that she is able to cope with this problem on her own. But pregnancy is not the right time to experiment with health, so at the first symptoms, an urgent visit to a doctor is necessary.

Symptoms directly depend on the form of the disease:

  • primary (acute), which appears for the first time after infection;
  • chronic (long-term);
  • latent (hidden).

Primary form

After the end of the incubation period, which lasts up to several weeks, the first symptoms begin to appear in the pregnant woman:

  • severe headaches;
  • burning and itching of the external genital organs;
  • temperature rise to 38.0-38.5 ° С;
  • pain in the lower abdomen, which becomes more intense during and after intercourse;
  • slight bleeding after sex;
  • sharp cuts and pain with outflow of urine;
  • purulent discharge with an unpleasant odor.

Infection during anal sex causes damage to the rectum. Then the acts of defecation become painful, hemorrhoidal bleeding is possible.

If a pregnant woman becomes infected through oral contact, then an inflammatory process occurs in the throat and mouth. This is accompanied by painful sensations when swallowing food or when breathing intensively.

Sometimes the pathogen gets into the eyes, which causes the infection to develop quickly. The eyes begin to itch strongly, burn, cramps appear, the mucous membrane becomes inflamed, and in the acute course purulent mucus is released.

All these symptoms increase and intensify over the course of two weeks, after which they begin to subside, giving rise to the illusion that the disease is going away while it becomes chronic.

In some women, gonorrhea does not cause such severe symptoms and subacutely goes away. In this case, all manifestations are reduced to itching of the genitals, minor purulent discharge and discomfort in the lower abdomen.

Chronic form

Symptoms in this case are wavy in nature: sometimes the manifestations of the disease are noticeable, and at times they are completely absent. Despite the fact that the symptoms of this form are much easier, the consequences are usually more serious and concern not only the genitourinary system.

In the chronic course of pregnant women, gonococci actively develop on the vaginal epithelium, which leads to gonorrheal inflammation. This is due to hormonal changes in the mucous intravaginal tissue, which is observed during the period of gestation. Intravaginal inflammation causes severe itching, burning, and profuse leucorrhoea. The patient's condition is very similar to the manifestations of candidiasis, but antimycotic drugs are ineffective in the fight against symptoms.

The development of the pathogen on the vaginal epithelium can cause erosions in the cervical region, which will be noticed by a specialist during a routine examination of a pregnant woman. The long course of the pathology can also lead to adhesive formations in the cavity of the fallopian tubes, which will make them impassable and be a problem for the next pregnancies.

Latent form

This form is the most common among cases of gonorrhea during pregnancy. It manifests itself in almost 70% of sick women.

With a latent course, the symptoms are completely absent, despite the fact that the pregnant woman is the carrier of the disease and can infect the sexual partner. The biggest difficulty lies in the fact that in the latent form it is not possible to detect it, therefore the woman serves as a source of infection without even knowing it.

Risks to the fetus and mother

Gonorrhea does not cause deformities or abnormalities in the development of the fetus, but it can affect the course of pregnancy itself. It is most dangerous if the infection occurs during the first trimester.

The consequences of a chronic form can be as follows:

  • ectopic pregnancy;
  • spontaneous abortion;
  • early discharge of intrauterine waters;
  • premature birth and deep prematurity.

The development of gonococci in the amniotic fluid or in the amniotic membranes can provoke placental insufficiency, which adversely affects the condition of the pregnant woman and the fetus.

In the event that therapy is not carried out, the disease can cause the following consequences for a woman:

  • endometritis;
  • salpingitis;
  • inability to get pregnant and carry a child;
  • reiter's syndrome (simultaneous presence of acute conjunctivitis, arthritis and urethritis).

It is also dangerous to infect a child during childbirth, as this can cause such pathologies:

  • sepsis (blood poisoning) in the neonatal period;
  • joint infections;
  • skin diseases (most often on the scalp);
  • conjunctivitis;
  • meningitis.

All of the listed complications in a child develop if the disease has not been treated. With timely therapy, the prognosis is usually positive, relief comes quickly and there are no negative consequences.

Diagnosis of gonorrhea during pregnancy

After detecting alarming symptoms of a pregnant woman, you need to contact a gynecologist who monitors the intrauterine development of the baby and the condition of the mother's future. As a rule, a woman is served by such a specialist in an antenatal clinic.

The patient is diagnosed in three stages:

  • oral questioning (making an anamnesis);
  • examination of a pregnant woman;
  • instrumental laboratory research.

During an oral question, the doctor tries to find out the possible timing and sources of infection. It is important to clarify how long after the alleged infection the first symptoms began to appear and whether the sexual partner was examined.

At the second stage, a comprehensive examination of the patient is carried out:

  • excludes clinical manifestations of other sexually transmitted diseases;
  • the density and size of all groups of lymph nodes is assessed, especially in the pelvic region;
  • detailed palpation of the abdomen, uterus, ovaries, urinary bladder, periuretal glands is performed;
  • the urethra is examined on the gynecological chair, the condition of the vagina is examined for edema, tumors, erosions, the cervix and the external pharynx are assessed.

The required list of laboratory tests is determined by the doctor depending on the need. Instrumental methods for detecting gonococci include:

  • Examination of stained smears under a microscope... The results of this study can be obtained very quickly, in addition, the analysis is performed in almost all laboratories, since it does not require expensive equipment. But the accuracy of the technique is rather low, in the best cases it reaches 70%, so the results need to be confirmed using other analyzes.
  • Culture analysis (allows you to identify the pathogen and determine its sensitivity to the main groups of antibiotics). At the moment, this method is used most often for the diagnosis of gonorrhea, and allows to identify gonococci in 95% of cases of pathology. The only drawback of the method is that results cannot be obtained earlier than a week later.
  • Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method... Based on the isolation of gonococcal DNA. It often gives false positive results, therefore it serves as an indicative method that needs to be clarified by culture analysis.

Since gonococci are extremely unstable to drying out, their transportation from the place of sampling to the place of analysis is carried out using special transport media.

The main material for analysis are smears from the following areas:

  • contents of the cervix and urethra;
  • rectum;
  • mucous epithelium of the pharynx.

Less commonly, materials for analyzes are:

  • samples of the epithelium of the pelvic organs, taken using laparoscopy;
  • synovial (articular) fluid;
  • blood or pus (with secondary self-infection);
  • the first portion (15 ml) of urine.

Recently, in the course of diagnostics, they began to use the ELISA test (special determination of antibodies in the blood), which has all the advantages of other methods: it is sensitive and gives quick results. But it is carried out in single laboratories, since the technique has not yet become widespread.

Treatment

Gonorrhea is treated by a gynecologist or venereologist.

Pregnant women are treated regardless of the timing of pregnancy. This is to prevent any negative impact on the developing fetus.

The complexity and duration of treatment primarily depend on how advanced the disease was at the time of initiation of therapy. During the treatment, the pregnant woman is placed in a hospital.

The main drugs that affect gonococci are antibiotics. They are selected in such a way as not to harm either the expectant mother or the baby. Derivatives of the penicillin series are rightfully considered the safest: Flemoxin, Augmentin, Benzylpenicillin, etc. But they have two drawbacks: firstly, they are rather weak and act slowly, and secondly, many strains managed to acquire resistance to them. In such cases, cephalosporin antibiotics are prescribed: Cephalexin or Ceftriaxone.

In the event that other STIs are treated along with gonorrhea, prescribe Erythromycin, Rovamycin, etc.

A full course of antibiotic therapy lasts a week and a half.

To strengthen the body's immune forces, immunomodulators are necessarily prescribed: Beresh Plus, Limontar, Viferon, Magne B6, etc.

To maintain and strengthen the placenta, Trental, Actovegin, Curantil and others are prescribed.

If the course of the disease was complicated, then the treatment can last up to 4 weeks. After completing the course, a follow-up examination is carried out in a week, which will show whether the infection has been defeated. Such checks are repeated for 3 consecutive months.

Simultaneously with the pregnant woman, her sexual partner should be treated, even if he has not been diagnosed with this disease. Also, if there are children in the family, they must be examined.

Prevention of gonorrhea during pregnancy

In order not to worry about the health and development of the fetus, it is better to prevent this dangerous disease. This requires:

  • having a permanent sexual partner;
  • use of barrier methods of contraception (during pregnancy it is better to use them at all stages);
  • compulsory tests for gonococcal infection when registering for pregnancy and in the third trimester.

Compliance with these rules will help avoid infection, and in the case of an existing disease, quickly diagnose and cure it. In addition, early diagnosis will save a woman from possible infertility and will allow her to feel the joy of motherhood more than once.

A venereologist tells about the treatment of gonorrhea during pregnancy in this video.

During pregnancy, the course of gonorrhea is erased, clinically not expressed.

In 70-80% of patients, lesions are located in the genitals or urinary organs. Infection of the fetus occurs ascending, which is generally characteristic of gonorrheal infection, and in most cases during childbirth.

The course of pregnancy is complicated by the danger of placental insufficiency, fetal growth retardation, miscarriage, septic miscarriage. Chorion-amnionitis, an inflammation of the membranes and placenta, can develop, which causes the death of the fetus from oxygen starvation, premature birth with a dead fetus. In childbirth, there is often premature rupture of amniotic fluid. Complications in surviving newborns include increased weight loss, prolonged neonatal jaundice (this is normal, fetal hemoglobin breaks down, turns into a yellow pigment - bilirubin). Neonatal jaundice lasts 2-3 days and goes away.

In newborns from women with gonorrheal infection, jaundice can last up to 5-7 days of life. The adaptive capabilities of such children are reduced, gonococcal purulent inflammation of the eyelids and conjunctiva of the eyes is often observed - gonoblenorrhea, which must be urgently treated, otherwise the eyelids may grow together, blindness may occur.

Premature neonates may develop fatal generalized gonococcal infection.

The only treatment is the use of antibiotics at any stage of pregnancy.

Adhesions in the tubes in chronic gonorrhea lead to their obliteration and play a prominent role in the etiology of infertility. If the patency of at least one of the tubes is preserved, pregnancy is possible.

Chronic inflammatory processes in the uterine appendages can be the cause of an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy; they often cause pain, sometimes severe, due to the presence of adhesions of the peritoneum, etc.

In the postpartum period (more often in the second week), an exacerbation of chronic gonorrhea is often observed; with localization of gonococci on the threshold, in the vagina or in the cervical canal, they penetrate into the overlying parts of the genital organs and the occurrence of acute ascending gonorrhea. In this case, the infection can penetrate through the ampullary parts of the tubes into the abdominal cavity and cause its defeat.

Even in the antenatal clinic, all pregnant women who have profuse leucorrhoea, especially of a purulent nature, should be carefully examined clinically and laboratory in order to exclude gonorrheal disease. You cannot limit yourself to only a single study of the discharge, it should be carried out several times during pregnancy.

The rapid course of gonorrhea is facilitated by the reactivity of the woman's body changed in connection with pregnancy.

If the pre-existing gonorrhea has been cured, pregnancy can lead to the elimination of residual inflammation, especially adhesions. This is achieved due to hyperemia of the pelvic organs during pregnancy, enlargement and stretching of the uterus, etc. All this contributes to the resorption of infiltrates and adhesions of the peritoneum; regeneration of affected tissues and other healing processes.

Gonorrhea of \u200b\u200ba pregnant woman is dangerous to the fetus.

Treatment for a patient with gonorrhea during pregnancy should be started immediately as soon as the diagnosis is made. It is no different from treating a woman in a non-pregnant state, except that pregnant women are not manipulated in any way on the cervix so as not to accidentally terminate the pregnancy.

Treatment should be both general (penicillin, sulfonamides, etc.) and local - lubrication with medicinal substances of organs that open on the eve of the vagina (skenovy passages, excretory ducts of the Bartholin glands, urethra), exposure to the vagina (douching or lubrication with disinfectant solutions, introduction medicinal tampons, etc.). Condylomas are cut off with scissors, observing all the rules of asepsis, or powders are prescribed (resorcinol in half with talcum powder), etc.

Gonorrhea during pregnancy is dangerous to the fetus. If the disease is not cured in time, then the infection will spread to the uterine cavity and the fetus will be infected. Pathology is a serious infectious disease that is sexually transmitted.

Causes of occurrence

They provoke gonococcal disease - microorganisms that prefer to settle on the oral mucosa and the genitourinary system. During pregnancy, gonococci attack the cervix and, as the disease progresses, move to the tubes and ovaries. The disease has a negative effect on the fetus and can cause various diseases and organ damage in it.

It can be done both sexually and by contact. The main reasons that can cause infection:

  • casual sex;
  • neglect of barrier contraception;
  • non-compliance with hygiene rules.

Not so long ago, gonorrhea was very common, but recently there has been a slight decrease in the incidence.

Symptoms

Tripper in women often runs without symptoms, so laboratory tests are necessary to determine the presence of the disease. If you ignore gonorrhea, then it can turn into a chronic form, in which exacerbation stages will periodically occur. As soon as the immune system fails, the disease will manifest itself with renewed vigor. As you know, during pregnancy, a woman's immunity weakens significantly, which means that an exacerbation of gonorrhea will not have to wait long.

Symptoms of gonorrhea (if any) can vary in intensity. It depends on which specific organ is affected. If the genitourinary system is infected, a woman may experience discharge, as well as pain during intimacy and during urination.

Signs of gonorrhea in anal lesion are pain and itching during the act of defecation. With oral lesions, infection of the throat and oral cavity occurs, this is accompanied by pain and inflammation. In rare cases, gonococci affect the mucous membrane of the eyes, which causes eye inflammation, burning sensation, and conjunctivitis.

Diagnosis of the disease

Due to the fact that gonorrhea negatively affects the fetus, the diagnosis of pregnant women is mandatory. It is based on the following:

As for laboratory research, it is assigned:

  • a smear on the flora;
  • Mutual fund method.

with bacterioscopy, vaginal secretions can be detected no earlier than a week after the analysis, and although this research method is 95% accurate, it takes a long time to wait for an answer.

After 2 days, the PCR results will be ready, the accuracy is almost 100%. The decoding of the mutual fund method will be ready in a day, but in this case the result will be only 75% accurate.

Therefore, today it is the fastest and most accurate diagnostic method. In addition, at the same time as gonorrhea, doctors can diagnose other genitourinary infections in a woman, for example, trichomonellosis or chlamydia.

Danger to baby and mother

The consequences for the child can be the most sad - he can die. This most often happens if a woman was infected with gonorrhea in the first trimester of pregnancy. According to statistics, miscarriages occur in 25% of cases.

If the woman successfully delivered the baby and the birth began on time, then in this case the baby will be infected while moving along the birth canal. Since gonorrhea in children occurs in complicated forms, in order to prevent infection of the baby, a cesarean section is prescribed.

However, in the process of gestation, a gonococcal infection harms the normal course of pregnancy. In addition to the fact that the infection can spread throughout the mother's body, it can cause gonococcal meningitis, and other diseases that pose a danger not only to the mother, but also to the child.

Any infectious disease can lead to infertility. There is a concept of secondary gonorrheal infertility, which means that after childbirth or abortion, the pathogen penetrated the tubes and into the uterus itself, which provoked infertility. Gonorrhea can affect a woman's nervous and cardiovascular system.

Pregnancy treatment

After a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with gonorrhea, it is necessary to start treating the disease until it starts to progress and leads to serious ones. Treatment of gonorrhea in pregnant women is carried out in stationary conditions, the woman is prescribed antibacterial drugs, the intake of which will not have any consequences for the child:

  1. Typically, Spectinomycin and Ceftriaxone are prescribed.
  2. If taking these drugs for some reason is impossible (for example, in case of allergic reactions to drugs of the cephalosporin and penicillin groups), then they are replaced with Erythromycin.

When a woman has a woman, her sexual partner must also undergo an examination and, if necessary, be treated. After the end of the procedures, the pregnant woman is prescribed physiotherapy, while the doctor should take into account the general condition of the woman.

Traditional methods and prevention

Every woman should understand that folk remedies in the treatment of gonorrhea can be adjuvants, but not in any way a substitute for the main drug treatment. In addition, using folk remedies while carrying a child can be extremely dangerous. Therefore, if you decide to use alternative medicine, the doctor must know what you will use the funds, and allow or prohibit their use.

Burdock enhances the effect of drugs, so you must be extremely careful with it during pregnancy. To prepare the decoction, you need the root of the plant. It must be crushed and filled with 0.5 liters of water. Put the product on fire and boil for half an hour, then remove, close the lid and wait until it cools completely. Then strain and take 1 tbsp every hour. l. The course is 2 weeks.

The infusion of Chinese lemongrass understands immunity well. Pour in 0.5 tsp. fruits with a glass of boiling water, wait 10 minutes, and then take 3 times a day in a glass. If desired, you can add honey to the product.

There are many traditional medicine recipes that involve douching. Under no circumstances should this be done during pregnancy!

With regard to gonorrhea, they are no different from the prevention of other sexually transmitted diseases. It is unacceptable to engage in casual sexual intercourse and neglect the hygiene rules in public pools, saunas, solariums. If you suspect a disease, you must immediately consult a doctor and take the necessary tests. Gonorrhea while carrying a fetus harms not only your health, but also the health of your unborn baby.

When a woman is in an interesting position, her health is important not only for her, but also for her unborn child. Many pathologies can adversely affect the formation of the fetus, so it is important to prevent them, and if there is a disease, then urgently take measures to cure it. Such serious pathologies include gonorrhea during pregnancy. What is this disease, how can you get infected with it? Is it possible to completely recover? What are the consequences for the baby?

What is gonorrhea

Once in the human body, gonococci begin to develop rapidly, provoking the disease

This pathology is one of the most serious, which pose a great danger to a developing baby. Bacteria lead to the development of a pathological process that simultaneously captures all organs of the woman's reproductive and excretory systems. Therefore, if gonorrhea develops during pregnancy, the consequences for the child can be dire if urgent measures are not taken.

Important! Gonorrhea is insidious in that it can develop in the body for a long time, affecting more and more organs, but without showing symptoms.

How to suspect a disease

Pregnancy and gonorrhea are two incompatible concepts, therefore, if it so happened that the woman could not protect herself from this pathology, then it is necessary to start treatment as soon as possible.

Very often, if the infection is already present, the woman is unaware of it, because there are no obvious signs of the disease. Sometimes gonorrhea in pregnant women and not only in them is similar in its manifestations to urological pathologies, so women try to cope with symptoms on their own. There may be complaints about:

  • some discomfort while urinating.
  • There is more vaginal discharge, but future mothers may associate this with their condition.
  • The discharge can have a rather unpleasant odor.
  • Often a headache, but this symptom of a woman is not associated with the presence of a serious infection in the body.
  • There is a burning sensation and itching of the genitals, the symptom resembles thrush, so it does not make women think seriously and visit a doctor.
  • Soreness and discomfort during intimacy.
  • The temperature may rise.

The appearance of discomfort during urination by women can be confused with symptoms of cystitis, but this can be a sign of a dangerous disease. The development of gonorrhea often provokes severe headaches, and expectant mothers do not associate them with a dangerous pathology.

Need to know. All these symptoms can be observed in the acute phase of the disease, and it lasts only about 2 weeks. Then the symptoms begin to subside, the woman thinks that the disease has passed and medical consultation is not needed.

This is the whole danger of the situation: the infection continues to flourish and increases the risk of developing serious complications that will affect not only the woman, but also her unborn baby.

Possible complications of gonorrhea

After the acute form passes, if therapy is not started, the disease becomes chronic. This usually occurs 2 months after infection. At this time, gonorrhea does not show symptoms during pregnancy, but the danger increases. Chronic gonorrhea is fraught with the following complications:

  • Termination of pregnancy, and this can happen at any time.
  • Premature birth.
  • Early miscarriage.
  • The development of placental insufficiency, which negatively affects the condition of the child.
  • The chronic form can provoke developmental pathologies in the fetus.

If there are all the prerequisites for terminating pregnancy, then there is a possibility that a pathological microorganism develops in the body

Need to know. Lack of appropriate treatment for gonorrhea can end in disaster for a woman. She may never become a mother again.

If a woman is sick, then during childbirth there is a high risk of infection of the baby. And this can lead to the following consequences:

  • Development of sepsis.
  • Infectious diseases of the joints.
  • Dermatological problems.
  • Frequent conjunctivitis, especially immediately after birth.
  • Meningitis is the most serious complication that can be fatal.

After birth, babies infected with gonorrhea suffer from conjunctivitis

Diagnosis of the disease

A diagnosis can only be made based on the results of a study, so a pregnant woman is simply obliged to regularly pass all the necessary tests, and even better to do this before pregnancy. If you suspect gonorrhea, the doctor will send you for the following studies:

  1. Vaginal swab for gonococci.
  2. Since a smear for gonorrhea during pregnancy is only 60% accurate, therefore, a study of vaginal secretions is mandatory.
  3. PCR research allows detecting the causative agent of gonorrhea in almost 100% of cases, since the method is based on the determination of gonococcus DNA.
  4. The ELISA test is carried out on the basis of a blood test and allows you to accurately determine the pathology.

First of all, the doctor will take a smear, but he will not give complete information, so other tests are necessarily prescribed.
Modern research methods make it possible to determine the pathogen, quite often other pathogens are found along with the gonococcus, for example, provoking chlamydiasis and trichomonellosis.

Treatment of gonorrhea in pregnant women

Important! If we compare the risk of developing complications from the disease and taking medications during pregnancy, then from gonorrhea it is much more serious. That is why, even while carrying a baby, treatment is mandatory.

If a pregnant woman is diagnosed with gonorrhea, treatment involves several directions:

  1. Taking medications that strengthen the woman's immune system.
  2. Antibiotic therapy course. It must be at least 2 weeks old.
  3. The recovery period, accompanied by the intake of vitamin preparations.
  4. Treating a partner to eliminate the risk of re-infection.

Given that the pathogen is a bacterial organism, antibiotics are prescribed to the woman. The safest for her are:

  • Flemoxin.
  • Benzylpenicillin.
  • Ceftriaxone.
  • Cephalexin.
  • Erythromycin.

After undergoing a course of treatment, a woman must be prescribed vitamins and minerals to support the body and strengthen the immune system.


Any antibiotics while carrying a baby should be prescribed only by a doctor, self-medication is unacceptable.

Treatment of a pregnant woman with gonorrhea is most often carried out in a hospital, in an infectious diseases department, in order to eliminate the risk of infection in households. Every pregnant woman should be aware of the seriousness of the situation, therefore, in no case should therapy be interrupted without the knowledge of the doctor.

Is it possible to avoid infection

A woman, planning a pregnancy, must undergo a full examination in order to identify the presence of chronic pathologies, cure them, and only then think about the birth of a baby. Quite often, during such examinations, sexually transmitted diseases are found, which the woman does not even suspect. If gonorrhea is treated in a timely manner, then the risk for a woman and her child is reduced many times, it is possible to become pregnant and give birth to a healthy baby.

  1. Avoid casual relationships that can end in disastrous health.
  2. During intimacy with a man, even with a husband, it is necessary to use high-quality condoms while carrying a baby.
  3. Timely take all the tests that the doctor recommends.
  4. Observe the hygiene of the body and personal space.

When planning a pregnancy, and especially during the period of carrying a baby, a woman should be very careful about her health.