During pregnancy, many changes occur in a woman's body. Among them, those that occur normally in the urinary system of the pregnant woman favor the development of urinary tract infections or UTIs. Therefore, there is an increased risk of contracting this type of infection in pregnancy.
Among these changes are:
- Dilatation of the ureters, which are the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder.
- Pressure on the ureters and bladder due to the increasing size of the uterus.
- Decreased muscle tone in the ureters.
- Increased reflux from bladder to ureters.
- Increased bladder volume.
- Higher urine pH (urine becomes less acidic) and higher sugar content.
Urinary tract infections or UTIs involve a urine culture with bacteriuria greater than 100,000 colony forming units per milliliter.
Read the full article on: What Physiological Changes Occur during Pregnancy? ( 35).
Silvia Azaña Gutiérrez
B.Sc., M.Sc.
Graduate in Health Biology from the University of Alcalá and specialized in Clinical Genetics from the same university. Master in Assisted Reproduction by the University of Valencia in collaboration with IVI clinics.
License: 3435-CV
