What exactly causes a UTI and how common are they during pregnancy?
I have chronic UTIs – I usually have about 4 to 5 per year – but I have a structural defect. A UTI happens when bacteria colonizes the urinary tract. It can be in the urethra, bladder, etc. Usually the bacteria is e-coli – about 95% of bacterial infections of the urinary tract are e-coli. The most common causes are wiping the wrong way – back to front – which gets e-coli from stool into the urinary tract. Or sex. Sex pushes bacteria into the urinary tract – therefore, peeing after sex is the best. Another cause is holding your urine. During pregnancy you are more prone to them because it is harder to completely empty the bladder from pressure – but it’s not as simple as that. There are a few more causes. I’ve had to take antibiotics every time. Usually it is Macrobid (I took that at 22 weeks) but sometimes I’ve had to take Cipro. Macrobid is just fine. Usually the Macrobid fixes it. However, sometimes I’ve had an aggressive UTI that needed a 2 week course of Cipro to fix it. Good luck.
