Urinary tract infection in pregnancy

Abstract

Urinary tract infections are the most common bacterial infection in pregnancy. Urinary tract infections may present as asymptomatic bacteriuria, acute cystitis, pyelonephritis. Untreated urinary tract infections cause serious maternal and neonatal complications, such as preterm labour, premature rupture of membrane, preeclampsia, anemia, low birth weight. Urine culture and sensitivity is the gold standard method of screening. E.coli is the most commom organism causing urinary tract infection. Treatment of urinary tract infection with appropriate antibiotics has been shown to reduce these complications. Therefore, pregnant women should be screened for the presence of bacteriuria early in pregnancy.