Amoxicillin during pregnancy

[SilverMoon010]

Hi guys,

My husband and I just started to try to conceive about 1 1/2 weeks ago.  I found out yesterday that I have a UTI. My doctor prescribed amoxicillin for this.  He said it was safe for pregnancy but I hate taking any type of medication let alone medication if I am possibly pregnant.  I have no symptoms of a UTI, which is throwing me off a bit. I had symptoms about two weeks ago and once I felt it coming on I just drank tons of water and within a day or two, the symptoms were gone.I wonder why it is still showing up in my urine but I have no symptoms?! 

Have any of you taken amoxicillin during pregnancy and everything was fine?  I'm not sure I always trust doctors when they say it is safe because you never really know for sure.  I'm sure it is in the safe category but hearing real experiences makes me feel better.  It's a possibility that I am not pregnant but there is also a possiblity that I am.

TIA!

[Mosaic]

BTDT... it's fine.

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by Mosaic 

BTDT... it's fine.

Haha

Thank you!! They suck.  I'm one of those people prone to them I guess 

[nia82]

I had to take a round of it with DS for a chronic sinus infection. It's considered safe. I wouldn't worry too much about it, all penicillin group abx are considered safe.

[EllisH]

Originally Posted by Mosaic 

BTDT... it's fine.

Same here.  UTI much less cool during pregnancy.

[~Adorkable~]

plus if you are just starting then even if you have concieved already there are many weeks before there is any blood conectin between you and a baby. the placenta does not form those till about week 8 if i remember corectly. so a week of something now will be long gone before it can even think about touching your baby!

[myk]

yup, totally safe :) much better than having a UTI, symptomatic or not!

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by ~Adorkable~ 

plus if you are just starting then even if you have concieved already there are many weeks before there is any blood conectin between you and a baby. the placenta does not form those till about week 8 if i remember corectly. so a week of something now will be long gone before it can even think about touching your baby!

Thank you.  I was wondering about that too.  I wasn't sure how long you had between the time you conceive and the time there is blood connection. 

Thank you everyone! Has anyone ever found out via urine culture of having a UTI with no symptoms of it? It just seemed strange to me as I always get symptoms of those suckers :-)

[Nanette56]

Thank you everyone! Has anyone ever found out via urine culture of having a UTI with no symptoms of it? It just seemed strange to me as I always get symptoms of those suckers :-)

Yep!! I had a BAD one in my first tri that was detected via urine culture, no symptoms.

BTW- I took the antibiotics (Cipro), got rid of it, wound up with a yeast infection (of course) which then caused an irregular pap. Then they got a GBS+ in the urine test when they tested to make sure the UTI was gone, and then I caught an Upper respiratory infection, which both resulted in a round of Ampicillin (I waited it out for over a week, and it just kept getting worse), and I now have another yeast infection. Round and Round we go.  If it's not one thing it's another. I'm deathly afraid of pre-term labor, especially with two, which is where infections can lead, so I've taken more this pregnancy than I normally would :(

As for your other question, there has been some suggestion that antibiotics taken by the mother MAY increase the chances of an infant contracting antibiotic resistant ecoli (someone can correct me if I'm wrong), and/or sepsis. This study talks about the increased risk  preemies in NICU units have of contracting it, and on an aside also mentions the possible connection between antibiotics administered to mothers. So if ya don't take the antibiotics, you run the risk of having pre-term labor, and having your baby stuck in NICU where he/she can contract it, but if you DO take them, you likely won't have an issue with the pre-term labor (at least from the infection) but they may have an effect on the baby anyway in terms of resistance to infection. There's never an easy choice :/

[EllisH]

Asymptomatic UTIs are more common during pregnancy, that's why I think in the US they do routine tests for it in the second trimester (today my neighbour in the birthing class told me she had been diagnosed with one coincidentally - this is in the Netherlands).  Also when you have a symptomatic one, symptoms are different from when you are not pregnant (e.g., I did not have a burning feeling when peeing, so initially I did not realize I had one).

I'd just like to reinforce: taking antibiotics are a no-brainer when you are diagnosed with a UTI in pregnancy.  Not just because of the risk of preterm labour, but also of the risk of kidney infection (with long-term effects on your own health and again risks for the baby).  UTIs are just much more pernicious in pregnancy.

My obgyn advised me to drink 2-3 liters of water a day to prevent recurrence.  Really tough to do, esp. when you have a sensitive bladder and it means you have to go every 15 mins...  (Pure) cranberry juice is also good, but don't overdo it (I was tempted to down a bottle a day, but then I read that OD-ing on it could cause kidney stones - sigh.).