PID is an infection affecting your ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes. It is mostly caused by Chlamydia or Gonorrhoea infections. The earlier PID is diagnosed, the better it is for the individual. If PID goes undiagnosed and untreated, it can cause serious damage to your reproductive organs. The outcome of your pregnancy, while you are suffering from PID, depends on how long you had been suffering from the disease. This will determine the extent of damage to your reproductive organs.
PID During Pregnancy
Effect of PID on reproductive system
Long term PID may result in formation of scar tissues in your fallopian tubes, uterus or ovaries. It may affect your pregnancy especially if the scar tissue is blocking your fallopian tubes. It also increases the chance of ectopic pregnancy. This is a kind of pregnancy where the fertilised egg gets implanted outside the uterus. If you have ever had this problem, then the most likely cause for that is your PID.
Severe PID
If you have severe PID, you may develop pus-filled abscesses in ovaries and fallopian tubes. You may also have inflammation in the thin tissue lining your abdominal wall in the inner side. This is known as peritonitis. In that case you may develop nausea, vomiting or fever.
Read more: 5 Herbs for Strengthening Uterus
Effect of severe PID on pregnancy
If you have been diagnosed with only mild PID and treated for that, it is likely that your reproductive system has not got affected. In that case you do have a fair chance of becoming pregnant. In fact, one episode of PID is not likely to affect your reproductive system. But, if you are suffering from PID for a long time and it has gone untreated, there is a risk of your fallopian tubes getting blocked. Even if your PID is only mind in nature, but it occurs repeatedly, then it is a cause for concern.
Repeat occurrence of even mild PID can increase the risk of damage to your reproductive organs. It has been observed that about 20% of women affected with PID are suffering from fertility related problems. If there is damage to the fallopian tubes due to PID, you have a risk of suffering from ectopic pregnancy. This happens because the scar tissue blocks the fallopian tubes thereby preventing the egg and the sperm from meeting each other. Ectopic pregnancy itself is a cause for concern since it can cause physical problems like pain and internal bleeding.
Treatment
Even if you have suffered from severe PID for a long time, and there is blockage in the fallopian tubes, it is not the end of the road for you. You can undergo surgery to repair the damage or to unblock the tube. You can undergo tubal surgery and rectify the damage caused by PID. But before that you need to treat PID thoroughly so that there is no repetition of the case. You need to know how to prevent recurrence of PID.
How to Prevent PID
- You need to completely abstain from oral and anal sex.
- You need to abstain from multiple partners. You also need to tell your husband to get a check-up for STDs like Chlamydia and gonorrhoea.
- Use a condom for having sex.
- You should not have sex with men below 25 years of age. This is because young men are more susceptible to Chlamydia and gonorrhoea.
- You need to get regular blood tests and swab tests done to ensure that there is no fresh infection.
- When you undergo treatment with antibiotics, your partner should also undergo the same treatment. This is to make sure that he does not infect you with STDs afresh.
Read more: Epididymitis-Symptoms, Risk, Treatment
Treatment for minor scarring
If the scarring due to PID is minor, the doctor may go for a laparoscopy. A minor surgical intervention through laparoscopy can easily unblock your fallopian tubes and rectify your infertility problem.
To conclude, there is no need to press the panic button that you cannot be pregnant when diagnosed with Pelvic inflammatory disease. It is dependent though to the extent of damage that has occurred to the fallopian tubes. It is suggested that you get in touch with a fertility specialist to find out the volume of scar tissues with the help of X-rays.
If relatively scarring is on the higher side, then also pregnancy cannot be termed as impossible. You can still conceive in a not so romantic way as you had maybe planned. IVF is the answer to this problem.
References
https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a1014449/pelvic-inflammatory-disease#ixzz555fhqIBC
https://www.romper.com/p/can-you-get-pregnant-if-you-have-pelvic-inflammatory-disease-experts-weigh-in-2363818
