Infections during childbirth: aware is armed

Even if the expectant mother carefully and thoroughly fulfills all the prescriptions of her gynecologist, she experiences a lot of anxieties and fears deep down.

One of the worries concerns the threat of her child being exposed to some dangerous infection during childbirth.

How likely and dangerous is this route of infection, if you passed all the tests in a timely manner and led a healthy lifestyle?

What types of infection can get into the body of a newborn during labor and how can you protect the unborn baby?

Together with with estet-portal.com we will look for answers to these very topical questions.

• How does infection occur during childbirth

• What infections can be obtained during childbirth

• Factors provoking infection of the child during childbirth

• How to prevent infection of the child during childbirth

How infection occurs during childbirth

When being observed by a gynecologist, the expectant mother must pass a series of tests that allow us to conclude that there are pathogens of infectious diseases in her body.

This is necessary in order to identify and promptly treat any infections present in the mother's body.

Doctors are well aware that even a completely healthy and full-term baby can get an infection dangerous for his fragile body precisely in the process of labor activity.

In the process of bearing a fetus, external infection is excluded due to the many "degrees of protection"; from the penetration of pathogens: due to the presence of amniotic fluid, ovum and placenta.

During childbirth, the child moves through the birth canal, where there is direct contact of his skin with maternal blood, as well as biological secretions from the cervix and vagina. If they contain bacterial or viral pathogens, infection is inevitable and will manifest itself in the next few hours of the baby's life .

Of course, we remember that infection of the fetus in early pregnancy is extremely dangerous, but this does not mean that the child is not in danger of contact with the most dangerous pathogens of various diseases, even if the mother has received the necessary treatment and is at the stage of recovery.

Which infections can be obtained during childbirth

All types of pathogens with which the child is likely to come into contact during childbirth, doctors are used to dividing into two large subgroups, which are called specific and nonspecific infections.

What does that mean? Let's look into some of the nuances of medical terminology!

• Let's start with non-specific infections, which include representatives of conditionally pathogenic microflora. The word "conditional" here it is of key importance, since we are talking about microorganisms that live in the body of any expectant mother and do not threaten the health of the baby until the necessary conditions arise for this – the child was born prematurely or his body was weakened as a result of a difficult birth.

Pneumonia is the most common manifestation of non-specific infections during childbirth, which can result in septic infection.

Another common case of non-specific infections during childbirth can be considered a fungal infection of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity in newborns with an opportunistic fungus of the genus Candida.

• Specific infections that are especially dangerous for newborns include, first of all, microorganisms that cause a number of characteristic diseases, the most dangerous of which are included in the TORCH complex.

Here experts include pathogens of toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegaly, herpes, as well as syphilis, chlamydia and many other diseases that can lead to severe pathologies of fetal development. Factors provoking infection of the child during childbirth

For effective prevention, it is necessary to know what factors contribute to the development of an infection that threatens the child during labor.

These conditions include:

• the presence of any foci

inflammation in the body of a pregnant woman – from carious teeth to urogenital infections or SARS; • various complications in the process of bearing a fetus. Isthmic-cervical insufficiency is considered especially dangerous – a pathological condition characterized by shortening and premature opening of the cervix;

• too long "anhydrous" an interval when the waters break too early, and labor continues for several more hours;

• excess amniotic fluid;

• various types of complications that occur during childbirth, such as bleeding in the second stage of labor, fetal hypoxia, or forceps.

Observations have shown that infections received by a child during childbirth can affect any organs and systems of the body of a newborn.

At risk are:

• heart and circulatory system;

• sense organs (sight and hearing);

• organs of the respiratory system;

• CNS.

What will be the impact of an infection that enters the body of a child during childbirth?

It depends on a number of factors:

• type of pathogen;

• stages of the course of an infectious disease in a pregnant woman;

• massive seeding;

• immune defense of a woman.

Of course, modern medicine sometimes performs real miracles, but any mother would prefer to make every effort to prevent

infection of the baby with any infection during labor.

So, it's time to figure out what preventive measures will be most effective and allow a woman to spend the last weeks of pregnancy in a calm and happy expectation of the birth of her baby, without fear that the child will catch any

infection during childbirth

. What is required for this?

To minimize the chance of infection in the newborn, it is important that pregnancy occurs after the woman has had time to treat all infectious diseases, and especially sexually transmitted infections.

So, in this case, we can talk about

two aspects of prevention

– planning pregnancy and regular visits to the gynecologist, which will allow timely detection of a dangerous disease. It is equally important to follow all the doctor's requirements, take the necessary vitamins and prescribed medications, and follow the – this will prevent possible complications that increase the risk of infections during childbirth.

It is important to remember

that if a pregnant woman is diagnosed with especially dangerous infectious – hepatitis, HIV, herpes or cytomegaly – a woman should be observed in specialized medical institutions. Births in this case also take place in specialized maternity hospitals, where qualified personnel are ready to provide all kinds of necessary assistance even in the most difficult cases.

Let's not forget about the observance of special sanitary and hygienic measures in maternity wards, aimed at preventing the spread of any pathogens of infectious diseases.

Sometimes, the sanitary requirements in maternity hospitals may seem too strict, but they are dictated solely by concern for the health of women in labor and newborns.

Every mother dreams of seeing her child healthy and happy.

Is it guaranteed to avoid

infections during childbirth

? Plan your pregnancy, follow the instructions of the doctors, and most importantly, pay attention in advance to the choice of a medical institution to which you can safely entrust the care of the health of the unborn baby.

For more interesting information on beauty and health, look at estet-portal.com.

Vaccination for adults: what you need to know

You might be interested in: Abs Workouts.