Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a very common form of vaginitis among women, both pregnant and non-pregnant. The incidence of BV is estimated to be around 50% among pregnant women. These numbers may be underestimated though, as a majority of the cases are asymptomatic and therefore are not reported or treated.

Bacterial vaginosis is a vaginal infection caused by an imbalance of the microflora population in the vagina. What happens is there is a reduction in the number of good bacteria (e.g. hydrogen peroxide-producing Lactobacillus), and at the same time the bad bacteria (e.g. anaerobic and Gram-negative bacteria) increase and overgrow the good ones.

Although BV can be considered a benign condition in non-pregnant women, this condition has been associated to many complications in pregnancy, such as amniotic fluid infection, premature rupture of the membranes, preterm delivery and, possibly, spontaneous abortion.

So what are the common treatments for bacterial vaginosis when you are pregnant? Most likely your doctor will give you with antibiotics.

The most common oral antibiotic given for BV in pregnant as well as non-pregnant women is metronidazole. This antibiotic is usually given over a course of 7 days, twice daily. Depending on the dosage and regime, cure rates with metronidazole ranged between 54-96%.

While metronidazole has been recognized as an effective treatment to stop symptoms of BV, it was recently reported that high concentrations of this antibiotic may also inhibit the growth of the good bacteria Lactobacillus. This could be a potential cause for recurring bacterial vaginosis.

The second common antibiotic treatment for BV is oral clindamycin. It has been reported that a 300-mg, twice-daily course of clindamycin for 7 days resulted in a 94% cure rate.

However, efficacy studies of clindamycin in treating BV have been conducted among non-pregnant women. It is assumed that the efficacy of this antibiotic in treating BV in pregnant women is similar to that in non-pregnant women.

Besides oral medication, there are topical antibiotic treatment for BV, including metronidazole vaginal gel and clindamycin vaginal cream. Both topical treatments were reported to have relatively high cure rates, but only for targeting BV infection of the lower genital tract. These topical treatments do not treat BV affecting the upper genital tract.

It is known that BV increases a pregnant woman's risk of preterm delivery, but studies so far have not yet found solid proof that oral and topical bacterial vaginosis treatments are able to reduce the risk of preterm delivery among women receiving these treatments.

Another dilemma that arises with antibiotic treatment is that the drugs also inadvertently killed the good bacteria, since antibiotics have no way to distinguish the good ones from the bad ones.

This indirectly encourages bad bacteria to flourish and outgrow the good bacteria. When this happens, symptoms of bacterial vaginosis will return. Studies show that one third of women treated with antibiotics suffer from recurring bacterial vaginosis within 3 months.

Can you treat BV in pregnancy with natural methods?

For many women, natural bacterial vaginosis cures are beneficial in stopping recurring bacterial vaginosis. If you are pregnant, it is always best to take medicines prescribed, if any, by your doctor, and consult your doctor before commencing any natural techniques to treat bacterial vaginosis.

To learn how you can get rid of bacterial vaginosis naturally, let the 3 Days to Permanent BV Relief system show you the right way to do it.