can white blood cells in urine lead to miscarriage?

[camer]

i just got a pos pregnancy test at home this morning and went to the walk in clinic to comfirm it. at the clinic i was toald there was white blood cells in my urine sample which is most likley a uti. i have never had one before and have no symptoms of one. the doc prescribed me a double dose of something for a uti. i questioned her about her diagnosis considering i don't have symptoms. i started asking her of other possible reasons for white blood cells to appear. she said to just take it cause with the presence of the white blood cells i could miscarry and it's better to be safe than sorry! the doc wasn't making anything clear and i left feeling very confused. i'd like to wait for the blood test results to determine if i actually have a uti before i take any prescriptions but now i'm worried about having a miscarriage if i wait. does anyone have experience with this or know anything about it???

[Marissamom]

I'm guessing what the doc meant was if there is an infection and it reaches your bloodstream or uterus it can trigger a miscarriage. and the 24-48 hours it can take to test for infection can make a huge difference. 

[EllisH]

Don't worry - a UTI can cause a miscarriage / early delivery (esp. if the infection spreads to the kidneys), but it seems you caught it early.  Do take the antibiotics - UTIs are much harder to get rid of during pregnancy and what you'll be prescribed will be safe (there's a clear class of antibiotics of which it is well known that it is safe during pregnancy).  Consequences of a UTI can be much more nasty. 

Also, do drink a lot of liquids and one glass of pure cranberry juice a day (bitter as it is) throughout your entire pregnancy (it's very tempting to drink only little, as the frequent peeing is so unpleasant).  Drinking a lot will help to flush out bacteria and the cb juice will make your bladder a more hostile place for bacteria.  Also, pee whenever you feel the urge - holding it up also contributes to developing UTIs.

By the way, you don't need symptoms during pregnancy to have a UTI - you could be completely symptomless!