Thrush (candidiasis) occurs in pregnant women almost twice as often as in non-pregnant women. Moreover, in pregnant women, in half of the cases, the disease is asymptomatic [1]. There is still no consensus in the medical community whether it should be detected and treated.
Is thrush dangerous for the baby?
At the end of the last century, the Cochrane Collaboration (an international organization that studies the effectiveness of treatment methods) concluded that Candida fungi are not dangerous for a baby [2]. Since then, the most popular thinking was that if thrush does not cause itching, burning or lower the quality of life for mama, then it is pointless to try to identify and treat it.
However, studies of the last decade make it clear that asymptomatic candidiasis may not be as harmless as previously thought [3]. Women who develop thrush in the second and third trimesters have an increased risk of premature birth (due to damage to the fetal membranes), and babies are born with lower birth weight [1].
During birth, can baby get infected if the mother has thrush?
Yes, but the probability is small. For vaginal delivery, there’s a 10 percent chance of infection, and for C-section it’s 4 percent [4].
What happens if a newborn has thrush?
If baby was born prematurely, then an infection can worsen any conditions. But if baby is born at full term, then, most likely, there will be no serious complications.
Candidiasis of the oral cavity of newborns is a fairly common problem for babies, and it’s often associated with thrush in the mother. But baby’s symptoms do not often appear on the first day after birth, so it’s difficult to establish a causal relationship. Many researchers tend to correlate thrush in baby's mouth not with the passage through the birth canal, but with mastitis (inflammation of the breast). That is, it is assumed that baby was infected not at birth, but during feeding [4].
Should I be treated for thrush?
If there are symptoms of thrush, it is better to be treated before giving birth. But whether to look for a fungus, if there are no symptoms, is up to my mother.
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