Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease that can cause irreparable harm to the reproductive system. Its presence during pregnancy can be potentially harmful to both the pregnant person and the child that they are carrying. It can also have a lasting impact—affecting viable pregnancies and causing infertility.
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Know The Symptoms
According to VeryWellHealth, only 5-30% of pregnant women with an infection may have symptoms, but they may include the following:
- Mucus or pus discharge from the vagina
- Burning during urination
- More frequent urination
- Pelvic pain
- More pain during sex
- Vaginal bleeding after sex
Sexual health should be considered and prioritized whenever one is engaging in sexual activity. However, it becomes even more complex and crucial when a pregnant person is involved. Chlamydia is an entirely preventable disease, but RBGO Gynecology & Obstetrics reports that there are at least “131 million new cases per year.”
Those cases disproportionately reflect Black people. In 2018, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that “In the U.S., chlamydia infections disproportionally affect Native American Indians (NI), Native Alaskans (NA), Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.” The Journal of Nursing for Women’s Health found that “chlamydia rates among Black women are 5 times the rates among White women” in 2022.
Here are seven things that you need to know about chlamydia and how it can negatively impact a pregnancy:
1. Chlamydia Is Easily Transmissible
All you need to contract chlamydia is to leave the condom behind. It does not matter when you are having sex, where you are having sex or the type of sex that you are having. If there’s no condom present, you (and your partner or partners) are at risk of getting chlamydia. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that “you can get chlamydia by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex without a condom with someone who has the infection.”
2. The STI Can Sneak Up On You
One of the main reasons that it is so important to be screened for chlamydia is that it does not show up right away. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “Chlamydial infection is the most frequently reported bacterial infectious disease in the United States.” Its symptoms do not appear immediately, meaning the infection can worsen before you can confirm its diagnosis and receive the appropriate medical treatment.
3. Chlamydia Can Cause Low Birth Weight
Premature birth occurs when a pregnancy concludes prior to 37 weeks of gestation. This is heavily associated with long-term and short-term health problems. The March of Dimes reports that “Preterm babies can have long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities and problems with their lungs, brain, eyes and other organs.”
“In pregnant women, it can cause the baby to be born early (prematurity) or with low birth weight,” according to the World Health Organization. The European Journal of Epidemiology reported that “Chlamydia-positive women also had a significantly higher risk of preterm delivery before 35 weeks.”
4. Chlamydia Can Cause Ectopic Pregnancies
A 2019 article in the Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases, “Chlamydia has also been shown to cause long-term reproductive problems such as ectopic pregnancy.”
An ectopic pregnancy is defined as “A condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus, usually in one of the fallopian tubes,” according to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. It is also commonly referred to as an “extrauterine pregnancy.” The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology International published a study that found that “Chlamydia antibodies were found in 60% of patients with ectopic pregnancy” and “the presence of Chlamydia antibodies was associated with a fourfold risk of ectopic pregnancy.”
5. Chlamydia Can Be Passed In Utero
A pregnant person with chlamydia can give it to the baby that they are carrying during the childbirth process. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews reports, “Mother-to-child transmission can occur at the time of delivery.”
A 1994 article in the Journal of Infection found that infants born to someone infected with chlamydia are at risk no matter what mode of delivery was chosen. Still, it reported that “rates of transmission were significantly lower after Caesarean section with rupture of the membranes before delivery than after vaginal delivery.”
6. Chlamydia Can Harm The Eyes and Lungs of Newborns
One of the ways that chlamydia can cause adverse pregnancy effects is by affecting the eyes and the lungs of newborns. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews reports that “the risk of transmission during birth varies, but is about 20% to 50% for eye infections and about 10% to 20% for infection of the lungs.”
The Journal of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infection reported that newborns with chlamydia hospitalized after their births showed cases of “diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis, bronchopneumonia or pneumonia.”
7. It Can Increase The Risk Of HIV Transmission
If chlamydia is not properly addressed, it can potentially increase the risk of contracting other sexually transmitted diseases. According to the World Health Organization, “without treatment, chlamydia can cause serious problems and may facilitate the transmission and acquisition of HIV and other STIs.”
