Dysentery in pregnant women
Dysentery is an intestinal infection caused by bacteria of the genus Shigella, which enter the body through the fecal-oral route. Then part of the bacilli is dissolved by gastric juice, and the rest reach the intestines. In the process of vital activity, they release toxic substances (exotoxins and endotoxins), which leads to intoxication of the mother's body and is fatal to the child.
In this case, anatomical lesions of the large intestine and functional failure of the digestive system of the pregnant woman occur. When infected with Shigella bacteria, infected women have frequent bowel movements, with increased peristaltic contractions, which adversely affects the course of pregnancy. The stool is liquid, with a blood and mucous component.
In the intestinal mucosa, the goblet cells produce mucus to protect it from the toxic waste products of the Shigella. Moreover, the amount of mucus produced depends on the degree of intoxication dictated by the type of bacteria, the form and severity of dysentery.
There are two forms of the course of the disease: acute and chronic. The acute form can be mild, moderate, and severe. If, with a mild degree of dysentery, patients sometimes recover from the disease themselves, then in case of pregnancy it is necessary to urgently seek help from a doctor. If the treatment was prescribed by an infectious disease specialist, this must also be reported to the obstetrician-gynecologist who is leading the pregnancy.
A mild form of dysentery is dangerous because after the symptoms disappear, patients may be mistaken and not guess about the presence of Shigella in the body, which can lead to the development of a chronic form. The infected themselves are carriers of the bacilli.
Dysentery in pregnant women is a great danger to the health and life of not only the child, but also the mother. Therefore, it is extremely important to consult a specialist in time and immediately diagnose the disease. Moreover, complex treatment is carried out in a hospital under the close supervision of medical personnel. Self-medication can adversely affect the course and outcome of pregnancy.
Therefore, it is very important to recognize the symptoms of the disease. The very first and alarming symptom is frequent defecation, which has a liquid fraction with a bloody and mucous component. Intoxication provoked vomiting and fever, lack of appetite, accompanied by headache, as well as discomfort in the intestines should also cause concern.
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Even a mild degree of dysentery is accompanied by diarrhea, which entails dehydration of the body, while, along with the fluid, the pregnant woman loses useful and necessary trace elements. Therefore, it is important to organize sufficient rehydration of the body to ensure the replenishment of fluid and electrolytes in the body.
A severe degree of the disease is especially dangerous, since it is accompanied by frequent cramping spasms, which leads to an increase in the tone of the uterus. Such reflex contractions can often cause spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).
Poisoning of the mother's body with Shigella toxins has a detrimental effect on the health of the fetus, and is also fraught with various defects in its development. Among other things, they negatively affect the autonomic nervous system of a woman and lead to the development of general metabolic disorders.
According to some reports, in sick mothers, the probability of intrauterine infection of the fetus with Shigella bacteria reaches ten percent, which leads to the death of the embryo. There is also a great threat of infection of the child during childbirth, because in pregnant women with dysentery, in ninety percent of cases, intestinal microflora is found in the vagina. In this case, difficult labor can have various kinds of complications. In sick mothers, there were frequent cases of early infant mortality.
After childbirth, dysentery often becomes the cause of such a complication as subinvolution of the uterus (delayed reverse development). And sometimes it causes inflammatory processes in the tissues of the mammary glands, which produce milk, which is so necessary for the nutrition of the child in the first months of life and is responsible for his immunity.
Dysentery significantly dulls the protective functions of the body, and at the same time, the likelihood of maternal mortality increases.
Women with dysentery are not allowed by law to regular maternity hospitals in order to avoid the spread of infection among healthy women. Therefore, they are forced to give birth in a specialized maternity facility, in which there is a possibility of catching a new infection.
It should be understood how important it is during pregnancy to be attentive to your health, and therefore to the health of the baby. It is necessary to pass all the necessary tests regularly and on time in order to diagnose the disease in a timely manner and begin its treatment.
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
