UTI during labour and complications for baby?

[HopefulMother1]

Hello mothers. Hoping for advice once more. I am 38 weeks and 4 days, and my bump has dropped. I noticed once again cloudy urine though no other symptoms. I had a midwife appt 10 days ago and the urine sample was clear of issues. However, when I did a home UTI test this morning as a result of cloudy urine, it came back positive for a UTI. I spoke with maternity triage who said to drop in a urine sample tomorrow, and they would test it and get back to me in a couple of days about antibiotics if needed. My worry is that I go into labour before then. Has anyone given birth with a UTI and did it cause complications for the baby? I have read horror stories of babies ending up with meningitis or sepsis as a result and I am terrified.

Any experiences shared here I'd be grateful for

Is there honestly no one who has experience of this? I spoke with a consultant today who said the risk is that the UTI spreads to baby when waters break. This is totally the opposite of what another consultant said which was that the risk is to me during labour, and getting very unwell when my body is under stress. Apparently I have to wait until results come back so they know what to give me.

Hi. I know easier said than done but try not to panic too much. It is very common. More riskier one is a GBS infection. Also how much is there. When you go to the bathroom clean the whole area properly, not just a wipe. If your waters break, make sure they clean your labia and urethra with water before any vaginal examinations to reduce the chance of the bacteria being pushed up. All the things you said are a risk but the only one that is really worried about is GBS and we treat with prophylactic antibiotics once waters break or in labour for that one.

Best thing to do is just wait for the result and start if anything picked up.

I had a UTI the hospital "forgot" to treat me DS was fine

Thank you for the advice. You're right, I have been panicking. Thankfully no GBS infection, but the effects of ecoli on a baby during delivery have freaked me out just as much. I wonder if I could be put on an antibiotic drip during delivery....

Oh wow - by forgot do you mean they never got around to treating your UTI? Was it a confirmed UTI?

Can't you go to a pharmacy for antibiotics for UTI now? Or GP? I wouldn't wait for maternity triage. It will be so frustrating if your UTI gets worse or if you go septic with it untreated. Or I would ring 111 see if you can get a GP phone call. Try pharmacy first though. I'd be stressed too. Any illness when due to go into labour would be stressful! Hope you're ok.

Deffo not in the pharmacy anti-biotic prescribing guidelines in pregnancy. This is usually for maternity to deal with if there’s a UTI (especially as they’ve probably already got the results of the culture by now).

I have recurrent UTIs (interstitial cystitis) and took antibiotics throughout both my pregnancies (10 years apart; been on antibiotics for 30 years for bladder issues) with no issues whatsoever.

Yes it was confirmed my dr rang me while I was in hospital to tell me I had a uti and could I pick up a prescription when she heard where I was she called them to tell them to treat my uti they didn't I still had it after discharge my dr was fuming how I was treated

I tried this already and have been told to go to my maternity unit. The doctor wouldn't treat me yesterday!

If only I could get my hands on some antibiotics!

If you are really struggling I would actually ring 111 and try and see someone out of hours rather than wait for the midwife to decide if you need antibiotics or not.

My goodness, this is terrible! I'll likely give birth before getting the bleedin' antibiotics I reckon

I think I would be turning up at the maternity ward at your stage of pregnancy and demanding to be taken seriously. Living with a UTI for 2 days before they even test seems extremely negligent. Are they waiting for it spread to your kidneys??

What bug has the sample grown? A positive dip doesn’t always mean there’s infection (depends what was positive, whether the test was done properly and interpreted properly), especially with no symptoms and if there was another dip that was negative. Surely you just need to phone the maternity unit and ask what the result was/whether it needs treating.

I had my urine tested last week for the same thing, nothing grew came back. I’ve been in and out of hospital for some other complications and sometimes it shows I potentially have a UTI, however I have found a baby wipe and cleaning before then gives a negative result. It’s picking up any bacteria including good bacteria. It’s hard but try not to panic until the labs have confirmed.

If nothing grows they report back in 2 days upto 5 days for actual growth so they can tell what bacteria it is

Thanks all. Despite the UTI (ecoli), I gave birth to a healthy baby boy (and vaginally too!). I was informed that as long as he didnt stay int he birth canal for an extended period, all would be fine (which it was).