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Tips on How to Conceive a Baby Boy
Pregnancy isn’t always like the images we see of beautiful women standing in a field of wildflowers, their gown billowing delicately around their bump in the breeze, as the sunset caresses the flawless, glowing skin of their serene face. In fact, it rarely is!
Pregnancy is exciting, wondrous, life-changing, emotional, and fascinating…but it’s also morning sickness, back pain, bladder and bowel problems, hair changes, itchy skin, stretchmarks, tiredness, insomnia, headaches, indigestion, heartburn, leg discomfort, vaginal discharge changes, and vaginal thrush.
And they’re just the more common pregnancy discomforts!
In this article, we’re going to look at vaginal thrush when you’re expecting, what causes it, how to prevent it, and how to treat it safely.
Thrush is a yeast infection, usually caused by the ‘Candida albicans’ fungus. The symptoms include itching, irritation, a burning sensation, painful sex, and swelling of the vagina and surrounding area. Sometimes there will be a creamy white cottage-cheese like discharge.
Vaginal thrush is usually harmless, but it can be uncomfortable and some women experience recurring bouts of it.
Candida lives naturally in most vaginas without causing any symptoms, but thrush can be the result of an imbalance in ‘friendly’ bacteria. It can sometimes be passed on through sex (although it’s not a sexually transmitted disease).
The good news is that there is no evidence that thrush affects your chances of getting pregnant, and it will not cause any problems to your baby. However, left untreated the infection can be passed onto your baby during vaginal birth.
During pregnancy, you are more likely to have thrush (and perhaps frequent bouts of it) thanks to the changes in female hormones, such as oestrogen.
You will also be more likely to have it if you’re prone to it when you’re not pregnant, or if you have diabetes or gestational diabetes. It can also develop if you take antibiotics for a different infection.