Thrush - any danger to baby?

[Olivia]

Hi,
I am 30 wks now and have had thrush (candida grabrata is the fancy name) on and off since I got pregnant. It just keeps coming back. Pessaries didn't help and my Dr is not recommending anything else. He told me that the best thing to do is to leave it altogether since it doesn't bother me too much. I'm concerned that it will pass to the baby during delivery. Does anyone know if there is a danger of that happening? And if it does happen, what are the risks to the baby? Can the baby get treated if worst comes to worst?!...
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[poshBecks]

I think it can be passed through delivery. But I am sure it is treatable, though not ideal I guess. Maybe get a second opinion if you can. Surely there is another option out there?

Good luck!

[Lunar]

I had horrible thrush with DD1 right up until I gave birth!
And it was NOT passed to her.
It never returned after she was born...thank GOD!
I didn't get it second time round thankfully.
My Dr told me as long as it was just normal thrush it posed no harm to baby.
Just used some canestan cream on the outside for the itchyness.
Or I found that some nappy rash creams helped alot too, I think bepanthen (sp?) was the best.

[poshBecks]

I Just used some canestan cream on the outside for the itchyness.
Or I found that some nappy rash creams helped alot too, I think bepanthen (sp?) was the best.
Ungvita is good aswell!!!

[hayleylea]

It can be passed on to the baby. I had it 2 weeks before bubs was born. I got some things to insert you know where and it worked a treat.....Goodluck with it! if you just go to your chemist or ring your doc they will tell you something to get rid of it

[Baby Girl]

Thrush can be very nasty and can pass onto bub but I am not sure what the affects would be.

Personally, if my Dr told me not to worry about it recurring - I would be mortified :eek: One of the possible reasons you keep getting it could be because your partner has it but, lucky for them, men show very few, if any, symptoms. I would advise getting him checked and (if he is a carrier) treated and go and see another doctor to find a treatment for yourself that works. Possibly each time you get it cleared up it comes back because he is carrying it and reinfecting you.

This site has some info and links that might help.... http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=240&np=299&id=2127

[Lunar]

It was not passed onto my DD and I thought I had a pretty bad case of it, and nothing I was doing was getting rid of it. The only thing that got rid of it was to give birth!
As soon as she was born it was gone....but DID NOT pass to her.

[Shakey]

Hi Olivia, i would be getting it checked out if your worried, thrush is usually cause by the imballance(sp) of good bacteria, its quite common in pregnancy, i would be eating alot of yoghurt with AB in it, also with the yoghurt its good to put on if the itching is teriable, I know it sounds weird putting it there but trust me it does work, The AB in the yoghurt helps. I can't give you any advise about it being passed onto bubs once born, but would like to wish you all the best

[Tam-I-Am]

It can be passed ono the baby if you have it when you give birth, but it just gives the baby thrush in the mouth and possibly the digestive tract - which would be a pain in the butt to treat - oral drop - and could cause problem for you if you're breastfeeding because it is easily transmissable to the nipples. DD and I had thrush go right through us both when she gave it to me on my nipples. It's not dangerous, as long as it is correctly treated.

I would
1) get your partner to treat himself - for at LEAST 2 weeks, twice a day with canestan cream or similar
2) continue to treat yourself in this time with cream or pessiaries, whichever your doctor prescribed.
3) try to eat a bit of yoghurt with acidophilous and bifidus (sp?) in it - if you can't bring yourself to eat yoghur (I HATE the stuff!) then drink a Yukult drink everyday

If you notice no change in 2 weeks - go back to your doctor and make a bigger fuss about it. He should be doing more.

Also - recurrent thrush, although common in pregnancy, can also be a sign of gestational diabetes because it increases the amount of sugar in your blood stream, and sugar is what yeast (thrush) feeds off - have you had your glucose test yet? If no, get it done ASAP - if yes, get your doctor to recheck the results.

Good luck! Thrush is no fun, but its really not dangerous, so try not to stress.

[p4purple]

Yep what Tami and Claire and Baby Angels said. Eat lots of Yohgurt to restore the balance in your body and get a good natural one. Slap it between your legs for a natural treatment of thrush and leave it for 2-3 minutes and jump in the bath or have a shower. Sounds gross but trust me it does work.

[MamaSage]

Try the yogurt, get a probiotic (Inner health Plus) and try to avoid starchy wheat based foods and sugary foods, as the thrush will be feeding off of them. Keeping in mind fruit has sugar too, so it may be tricky...

But definitley get up your Dr though, thats not good enought to say it will go away on it's own. Cos it probably wont...

[maddymoo]

Hi :) I just wanted to add..... Avoid using soaps and perfumed products in the area, anything like that can be really irritating. I found a few products which gave me relief - Dermaveen wash, Pinetarsol bath oil (it stinks, but it takes the itch away) You can get these at a chemist. Also some simple home remedies - Tea tree oil or lavender in the bath or put a tiny drop with your treatment cream to use externally.
(and I mean a tiny drop!) Also Epsom salts or Bicarb in the bath. Yogurt works well too - pretty messy though! You can also use an accidophillus capsule internally (the warmth in there dissolves it) make sure you wear a liner though!
But most importantly don't use soaps and body washes, If they smell good and have a pretty colour - They're no good for your skin:no: and it will keep on coming back!
The girls advice of treating your partner is worth taking too.... Although it prob is hormonal??
I know how you feel - Thrush is horrible:thumbsdown: Hope some of our advice helps:)

[Olivia]

Thanks a lot for your advice, everyone. I am getting a 2nd opinion from another Ob later this week.

Canesten didn't do much for me as apparently it is not strong enough for candida glabrata which is a more persistent type of thrush compared to the other types. Has anyone tried Monistat at all?

It is comforting to know though that trush in babies is treatable fairly easily...

[Mum2Lucas]

I have heard that it can be passed to the baby during delivery. i thnk you can use canistan cream to help with it.

[jane82]

my ds caught thrush from me when he was six weeks - i had been on antibiotics from my ceasearean wound infection and he got it from my nipples, it took an age to clear up and was horrible for him i had to put gooey gel inside his mouth before and after every breastfeed and he lost a bit of weight. im unsure whether u can pass it to baby during delivery but if u can avoid at all costs force your dr to do something!
good luck

[ikis84]

I have used monistat - the 7 day one. It really hurt when I used it, but it cleared up the thrush. Thrush thrives in moist areas, so try to keep it dry by changing your undies regularly (a few times a day) and after your shower/bath dry the area really well - using a hairdryer on a low setting is good for that.

[Olivia]

Thanks for your advice everyone.

Ikis84, when you say Monistat hurt, do you mean you had burning from it? Did you have any other side effects? Do you know if Monistat is completely safe in pregnancy? Thanks