How is Gonorrhea treated during pregnancy?

Promising to stand right by my friend through this pregnancy period has really opened up my eyes to several things. Those days when she is really restless when she is excited, and just so much to learn. During one of our visits to the hospital, I picked up some information on a day I decided to stay back to learn.

Usually, I will drop her off and come back to pick her up after she is done, but on this faithful day, I decided to stay back to receive some of these good lectures. The nurse was teaching about sexually transmitted infections and how pregnant mothers and their babies could be affected. It was a lot to take in, and I was glad my friend was not affected by any of those.

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With all she said, she was persistent on the fact that a test to reveal the presence of this infection is very important, and early enough too, but what else did she say? Join me, friends, as we unveil this topic together, understanding its dos and don'ts.

Pregnancy is a huge task, the responsibility of caring for your unborn baby/babies (as the case may be), and yourself lies heavily on your shoulders. Gonorrhea is one highly contagious STD that has a strong effect on women and men, it is spread through vaginal, oral, and anal sex from an infected partner to an uninfected one.

Diagnosing gonorrhea is not easy to diagnose, as it may not show any sign for some time after infection, the way people get to know is when their sexual partners begin to show some signs.

In men, gonorrhea comes with these symptoms; discharge from the penis, burning while urinating, or swollen and tender testicles. In women, on the other hand, symptoms in women include; Anal itching, vaginal discharge, bleeding from the anus, painful bowel movements, and irregular vaginal bleeding.

To prevent pregnancy complications, getting screened for gonorrhea during the first prenatal visit is very important, the chances of complications and passing down to the unborn child will be highly reduced. If gonorrhea is left untreated, it comes with a risk of premature birth, low birth weight, premature rupturing of membranes, and miscarriage.

Babies of an infected Mum can become infected during birth, and spread occasionally before birth, when the membrane ruptures quite early before birth, it could lead to eye infections as the baby passes through the birth canal.

Placing preventive measures on your sexual life as a pregnant woman is also highly important, testing negative for the infection during the first pre-natal visit and picking it up later is highly dangerous. So, pregnant women are advised to take protective measures too;

• The use of protection: If you have more than one sexual partner or you are unsure of your partner's health status, condoms happen to be a great form of protection for any form of sexual contact.

• If you have one sexual partner, be sure to get them tested as well.

Conclusion.

According to the nurse taking the lecture, a pregnant woman with gonorrhea will not be treated properly until she delivers the baby, it can only be managed with antibiotics. The child will however be given a first dose of injection 24 hours after birth to prevent transfer of infection to the child and after delivery, the mother will be treated accordingly too.

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References.

https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/pregnancy-complications/gonorrhea-in-pregnancy/

https://www.drdanielkushner.com/blog/what-to-know-if-youre-pregnant-and-have-gonorrhea

https://flo.health/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/illnesses-and-infections/gonorrhea-in-pregnancy

https://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy/health-and-safety/gonorrhea-during-pregnancy_1427382

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6491276/

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my YouTube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free, please do not forget to subscribe, friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from here, Kindly do well to keep them coming.