Vaginal Yeast Infection During Pregnancy

Topic Overview

Vaginal yeast infections are a common problem during pregnancy. They may be caused by high estrogen levels. These infections aren't a risk to the pregnancy. But they can cause uncomfortable symptoms.

If you are pregnant and have vaginal infection symptoms, see your doctor. Don't assume that your symptoms are caused by a harmless yeast infection. If you have bacterial vaginosis or a sexually transmitted infection (STI), such as gonorrhea or chlamydia, you will need treatment to prevent problems during pregnancy.

If you are pregnant, do not use non-prescription yeast infection medicine unless you discuss it with your doctor first. Experts recommend that during pregnancy:^{footnote 1}

• Vaginal medicines should be used for yeast infection treatment. These may be vaginal creams or suppositories.
• Only certain medicines should be used. Non-prescription medicines include clotrimazole (such as Canesten or Clotrimaderm), miconazole (such as Monistat), terconazole (such as Terazol), and butoconazole (such as Gynazole-1).
• Treatment should be used for 7 days. (It can take longer than usual to cure a yeast infection during pregnancy.)

In the past, nystatin (such as Ratio-Statin) was the drug of choice for the first trimester of pregnancy. But now all vaginal medicines are considered safe during pregnancy.