Most common maternal contaminations (eg, UTIs, skin and respiratory tract infections) are generally not serious problems amid pregnancy, though some genital infections (bacterial vaginosis and genital herpes) affect labor or choice of delivery method.

At Dr. Jaya Chhabra’s Women’s Clinic, we give antibacterials to pregnant patients only when there is strong evidence of a bacterial infection and only if benefits of treatment outweigh the risk, which varies by trimester.