Editing Maternal and Newborn Nursing (section)

=== Renal and gastrointestinal ===

Glomerular filtration rate rises about 50 percent, so normal serum creatinine and BUN are ''lower'' than in the nonpregnant adult; a creatinine of 1.1 mg/dL that would be unremarkable otherwise is abnormal in pregnancy. Ureteral dilation and urinary stasis raise the risk of pyelonephritis, which is why '''asymptomatic bacteriuria is treated in pregnancy''' even though it usually is not outside of pregnancy. Progesterone relaxes smooth muscle, causing decreased gastric motility, constipation, and gastroesophageal reflux from a relaxed lower esophageal sphincter.