Everyone has probably wondered "can I actually have children?" at some point in their lives. This is a question that can begin to gnaw at you, become a source of insecurity and even affect your self-image. Consequently, many people want to do everything they can to protect their fertility and increase their chances of a successful pregnancy. Did you know that this can also be done by getting tested and treated for STDs?
The road to pregnancy
In the normal situation, each month an egg matures in one of a woman's ovaries, after which it is released into her abdominal cavity during ovulation. There he has to find his own way over a small distance to the opening of a fallopian tube. Once there, the egg is then slowly moved by tiny vibrating hairs towards the uterus. If sperm cells are also present, the egg cell can be fertilized. Fertilisation can take place anywhere in the aforementioned process, but the fertilised egg can only develop into a baby if it can implant itself in the womb. It is therefore extremely important for your fertility that the fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix and vagin* are healthy and well accessible to sperm cells and (fertilised) eggs!
ls this not the case, then as a woman you are more likely to:
- infertility
- reduced fertility
- ectopic pregnancies
- miscarriages
- premature births
- congenital anomalies
STDs in women can cause all of these things and thus reduce the chances of pregnancy or increase the risks during pregnancy!
In men, inflammation of the vas deferens or epididymis, for example, can also lead to infertility due to scarring and constriction. Infectious diseases, such as STDs, account for 15% of cases of male infertility.
So STDs in men can also reduce the chances of pregnancy!
STDs and getting pregnant
Chlamydia
This bacterium causes no symptoms at all in 90% of women and 50% of men. If a woman walks around with it for too long, the bacteria can ascend to the lower abdomen and cause inflammation of the small pelvis: pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). As many as 50% of cases of PID are due to chlamydia! Significant inflammation of the fallopian tubes causes them to plug up and the (fertilized) eggs can no longer reach the uterus, thus increasing the risk of infertility or ectopic pregnancies.
Even women with fertility problems where the fallopian tubes were still open after a chlamydia infection were still 33% less likely to become pregnant. This is thought to be partly because the immune response to the bacteria interferes with implantation and fetal development.
In addition, chlamydia causes adhesions in the abdominal cavity, which makes operations (such as caesarean sections) more risky.
A poorer seed quality is measured in men with a chlamydia infection.
Fortunately, not every woman develops fertility problems after a chlamydia infection! According to STI AIDS Netherlands, it occurs in less than 1% of women with chlamydia, an estimated 500 women in the Netherlands each year.
Gonorrhea
Like chlamydia, gonorrhea causes PID when it takes off, about 20% of cases are caused by it. Also, many people have no symptoms from it: up to 60% of women and 10% of men. Gonorrhea also increases the risk of premature birth, underweight births and birth defects such as blindness and arthritis.
Mycoplasma
This is a sexually transmitted bacterium that can live in your cells and often causes an inflammation of the urethra in men. In infertile women it is found up to 4 times more often than in fertile women that they have ever had mycoplasma. It also gives a 5 to 6 times higher chance of ectopic pregnancies.
By itself, mycoplasma causes less damage than chlamydia and gonorrhea, but combined, it actually does additional damage. It has also been shown that mycoplasma can bind to sperm cells and get an elevator to the uterus or abdominal cavity.
Trichom*onas
The relationship between the parasite trichom*onas and fertility has been relatively little investigated. What has already been found in certain studies is that women who indicated that they had once had trichom*onas were twice as often infertile due to constricted fallopian tubes. The chance of infertility seems to increase if you have trichom*onas infection more often.
In a combined infection with chlamydia, PID is seen much more often. Possibly this is because chlamydia gets a lift because of the trichom*onas parasites.
Furthermore, the parasite probably works against sperm cells by eating them or disrupting their movement.
Herpes
Especially if you as a woman contract this virus for the first time during pregnancy, it is dangerous for the unborn child because it can lead to miscarriages, stillbirth and birth defects. If you have had herpes before, and that could be genital herpes or cold sores, you already have antibodies and the risk to your baby is much lower.
Yet even a pregnant woman who has been carrying the herpes virus for years can infect her child around birth. In newborns, it can then cause serious consequences such as sepsis (blood poisoning), seizures and liver failure. Pregnants with herpes blisters at the time of delivery are therefore advised to undergo a cesarean section.
Better safe than sorry!
Fortunately, most STDs are treatable and by no means always lead to problems with your fertility or pregnancy. Moreover, by using condoms and getting tested first, you can prevent an STD infection altogether.
Avoid grief for you and your (future) partner, get tested and treated for STDs on time. You can get tested at Onedayclinic at the following locations:
Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Nijmegen.
Sources
- D Pellati, et al. Genital tract infections and infertility. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Volume 140, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 3-11
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030121150800136X - DG Tsevat, et al. "Sexually transmitted diseases and infertility." American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 216.1 (2017): 1-9.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193130/ - Kelly A. Cunningham, Kenneth W. Beagley, Male Genital Tract Chlamydial Infection: Implications for Pathology and Infertility, Biology of Reproduction, Volume 79, Issue 2, August 1, 2008, Pages 180-189
https://academic.oup.com/biolreprod/article/79/2/180/2557492 - https://lci.rivm.nl/richtlijnen/chlamydia-trachomatis-en-lymfogranuloma-venereum
- Heumann, Christine L et al. "Adverse Birth Outcomes and Maternal Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Washington State." Sexually Transmitted Diseases 44.5 (2017): 266-271.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5407319/ - Fernandes ND, Badri T. Congenital herpes simplex. [Updated 2019 Dec 21]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507897/ - Straface, Gianluca et al. "Herpes simplex virus infection in pregnancy." Infectious diseases in obstetrics and gynecology 2012 (2012): 385697.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3332182/
