review · Medicine
Pregnancy causes structural and functional changes in the urinary system, making women vulnerable to complications such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), kidney stones, and bladder dysfunction. UTIs are the most common, affecting 10% of pregnant women, often caused by Escherichia coli, and can lead to acute pyelonephritis if untreated, posing serious risks to both mother and baby. Kidney stones are rarer but hazardous, while bladder dysfunction affects up to 50% of pregnant women. Unmanaged urological complications can result in preterm labour and renal dysfunction. Effective pharmacological care, including safe antibiotic use, and a collaborative team approach are vital for optimising outcomes for both mother and foetus.
Urological complications during pregnancy are common and can have severe consequences for both the mother and the developing baby, including preterm labour and kidney damage. Understanding their epidemiology and effective management strategies is crucial for ensuring healthier pregnancies and better outcomes.
This review synthesises existing knowledge on managing urological complications in pregnancy. The abstract does not indicate a specific application pathway, new technology, or product for commercialisation.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Pregnancy leads to a number of structural and functional changes in the urinary system, which makes females susceptible to urological complications. This review aims to discuss the epidemiology, complications and prevention and management of urinary tract infections (UTIs), kidney stones and bladder dysfunction in pregnancy. UTIs are the most common urological problem presenting in 10% of pregnant women; Escherichia coli is the most common causative organism. If left untreated, UTIs lead to acute pyelonephritis which occurs in about 2% of pregnant women and which has serious consequences for both the mother and the baby. Kidney stones, although rare, are hazardous, occurring in 1 in 200 to 1 in 1500 pregnancies, and may cause obstructive uropathy, and aggravation of "labor-like" pain. Urological complications are frequent in pregnancy; bladder dysfunction alone has been documented to affect 50% of the pregnant women. Urological complications can have severe consequences when not properly managed including preterm labor and renal dysfunction. In order to have the best pharmacological care, safe use of antibiotics for UTIs is needed along with other measures for kidney stones. This review highlights the importance of a team approach to patient management to optimize outcome and touches briefly on some of the ethical dilemmas that may be encountered when drug therapy in pregnancy is being considered. Therefore, it is feasible to enhance the health of women and the fetus during this period through patient focused care and innovative interventions.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000041381
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