Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Published : June 13, 2020 9:46 PM IST
Experts say that pregnant women exhibit swelling and bleeding in their gums. In fact, almost 8 out of 10 women complain of gingival weakness and other oral diseases. @Shutterstock
When you are pregnant you need to take special care of yourself. This is needed for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. You need to nurture your body and mind so that there are no adverse effects on the foetus. But one thing that many expecting moms neglect is their oral hygiene. This is not only bad for the mother but can also have an effect on the baby. If you do not clean your mouth properly, you run the risk of many diseases and infections. This becomes a problem when you are pregnant. Bad oral hygiene can have an adverse effect on both your baby and you. So, it is crucial that you take extra care of your mouth when you are expecting.
Bacteria from a mother's mouth can be transmitted through the blood and amniotic fluid to her unborn child. This could contribute to the risk of a premature delivery, a low birth-weight baby, premature onset of contractions, or infection of the newborn child. This evidence could have an important implication for women and babies' heath since simple improvement of dental hygiene may help to reduce the incidence of unknown complications in pregnancy and newborn babies.
To prove this point, researchers from the Queen Mary University of London tested the gastric aspirates (stomach contents containing swallowed amniotic fluid) of 57 newborn babies and found 46 different species of bacteria in the samples. The most prevalent bacteria in the samples may have come from the vagina. But, two of the species were from the mouth and are not normally found elsewhere in the body. These particular bacteria, Granulicatella elegans and Streptococcus sinensis, enter the bloodstream and can lead to infections remote from the mouth such as infective endocarditis.
The above-mentioned study makes it clear that it is imperative that you keep your mouth clean during pregnancy. This not only keeps the pregnant mother healthy but also helps in protecting the child from diseases. One common complication during pregnancy is pregnancy gingivitis. Experts say that pregnant women exhibit swelling and bleeding in their gums. In fact, almost 8 out of 10 women complain of gingival weakness and other oral diseases. But if gum diseases are detected early during pregnancy, it can be easily treated.
