What if I have kidney stones during pregnancy?

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Department of General Surgery and Anesthesia, Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Kidney stones during pregnancy do not greatly affect the development of the fetus, but have a great impact on the health of the pregnant woman. Most cases of kidney stones during pregnancy are due to pre-existing conditions.

Although the majority of cases of kidney stones during pregnancy are due to a pre-existing disease, many pregnant women develop the disease during this time. The reason is that pregnancy causes many changes in a woman's body, especially in the metabolism of minerals and organic substances, leading to the possibility of stone formation.
In addition, the growing fetus, growing larger, changes the position of the uterus, compresses the circulation of urine, causing urine to be deposited, easy to produce kidney stones.
Drinking less water is also one of the causes of kidney stones in pregnant women. During pregnancy, the body's need for water doubles as usual, drinking less water affects the filtering process of the kidneys, leading to the risk of stone deposition.

If kidney stones do not obstruct the urinary tract, stones are small in size, non-infectious, and do not have a great impact on the mother's health, pregnancy can be normal. However, when the fetus develops in the womb, it can cause compression of the ureters, hydronephrosis, and pain in the renal fossa. The degree of pain depends on the degree of compression, the location of the compression, and the size of the stone. If the stone has entered the ureter, it will increase the possibility of obstruction. But if the stone is in the kidney, the symptoms will be reduced. In fact, many people have had kidney stones during pregnancy but had no symptoms.

Kidney stones do not affect the fetus but make pregnant women uncomfortable, especially when the stones develop, causing severe pain, urination, infection... Most pregnant women can give birth normally. no problem. There are also a few cases of kidney stones causing severe abdominal pain, causing pregnant women to give birth prematurely. Therefore, women need to actively prevent kidney stones, pay attention to a reasonable diet.
If you have kidney stones during pregnancy, you need to go to the hospital to check to find out the cause, the condition of the stone, the type of stone to have the right treatment and care for yourself. If it is a calcium stone, you should not supplement with calcium because it can make the stone grow faster. It is best to consult a treating doctor during pregnancy.

If the stone is small, does not cause pain or has any symptoms that affect pregnancy, then you should not take medication, just drink a lot of water to increase the ability to eliminate stones. Stones can pass through the urine.
In case the stone is large or obstructs one side of the ureter, the stone causes uncomfortable symptoms, it is necessary to intervene with some non-surgical treatment methods.
During pregnancy, if you have unusual symptoms, you should be examined and consulted with a specialist.