A cure for a common complaint

photo by letouj

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that I was having more frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions. I've been feeling them since 8-10 weeks, so their presence was nothing new, but the frequency was changing. I made sure I was well hydrated (since dehydration can bring on contractions), and then guessed that they might have something to do with an existing or potential urinary tract infection.

Unlike most people who have had UTIs and speak in horror about the crippling, excruciating pain they inflict, I've had two or three in my lifetime and can't say any of them has been painful. What I usually notice is either an increased frequency of urination (which is pretty much impossible at this point since I'm going about every 20 minutes anyway, as a result of drinking plenty of water + being pregnant) or kind of a warm/tingly sensation when I go. I didn't have that this time, but I thought I'd dip my urine to be on the safe side. (Urine dipsticks, by the way, are something I think every pregnant woman--maybe everybody, period--should have on hand. They are so invaluable for those times when you feel a twinge of something coming on but you're just not sure, and don't want to pay for an office visit just to be told that you're fine. They can also tell you, via specific gravity, how well hydrated you are--or aren't--which I find very helpful. Understanding what your dipstick means is something a little light internet research can teach you and which I believe is well worth the effort.)

What I found were leukocytes, or white blood cells--no blood, no nitrites (indicating the presence of bacteria), both of which are common with UTI's--just leukocytes, which likely indicate that the body is fighting some sort of an infection. (The linked article notes that leukocytes alone are often an indicator of a yeast infection, but I've also had enough of those to be familiar with the symptoms.) Because I've seen so many pregnant patients develop uterine irritability in response to urinary tract infection, I suspected I was probably in the early stages of fighting something off in that department.

Being a person who hates running to the doctor's office for every little thing, and who hates even more being on antibiotics and their subsequent side effects (for me, an upset stomach and a yeast infection almost always follow), I figured I was early enough in the game to try some gentler alternatives. So I turned to one of my favorite pregnancy books, The Natural Pregnancy Book, and was pleased to read that most urinary tract infections, if caught early, can be treated at home.

The author gives a few tinctures (goldenseal in particular) which can be helpful, but also recommends regular old Vitamin C (500 mg every 4 hours; I did this 4x a day so as not to exceed the recommended dose of 2,000mg) as well as unsweetened cranberry juice (32 oz a day), plus a total of 64 oz a day of total fluids (juice and water). Not having goldenseal or ready access to it, I decided to start conservatively, with Vitamin C and juice. Blueberry juice has also been shown to be just as effective against UTI, and so I drank a 3:1 mixture of blueberry to cranberry for the sake of palatability. I was pleased to find that Trader Joe's carries an unsweetened, not-from-concentrate version of both juices for around $4.99 a bottle, which is an absolute steal. You want to be sure to check the ingredients, though, so that you're not getting anything sweetened or from concentrate (in which case you're basically paying for water). Knudsen's Just Juice is another good brand, though it costs about twice as much.

After just two days of this regimen, I was thrilled that my Braxton-Hicks had disappeared (or at least returned to their previous occasional state) and my urine dipped clear as a bell. As a maintenance measure, I've started drinking cranberry spritzers instead of plain water throughout the day: about an ounce of cranberry juice in 8-12 oz of water is pleasantly tart and refreshing, and I also mix it with orange and carrot juice first thing in the morning. As a result, I wind up getting close to 8oz of pure cranberry juice a day (at a total of 70 calories, pretty negligible from a sugar/caloric standpoint--often a concern with juices) plus approximately 8 glasses of water a day, and I feel hydrated and refreshed. Plus I've saved money on an office visit and a prescription, and more importantly, spared my body and my baby from an unnecessary course of antibiotics--strengthening my body's ability to fight infection instead of compromising it. That's what I call a win-win course of action.