Can Positive Chlamydia in Husbands Impact Pregnancy Outcomes?

Chlamydia is a pathogenic microorganism smaller than bacteria and larger than viruses. It belongs to the Chlamydiaceae family and is a specialized intracellular parasitic microorganism with DNA and RNA nucleic acids. At present, 13 kinds of chlamydia have been found, including Chlamydia trachomatis and chlamydia pneumonia, which can cause human infection. Related to reproduction is Chlamydia trachomatis, which mainly infects the eyes and genitourinary organs.

The most common infections of male chlamydia are nongonococcal urethritis and nongonococcal prostatitis. The main clinical manifestations of nongonococcal urethritis are urinary tract irritation, pain during urination, and urethral discharge. For example, frequent urination, urgency, pain, and incomplete urination.

The characteristic of urethral secretions is that they are thin and small in quantity, serous or thin, purulent, and difficult to flow out independently. It is often necessary to squeeze the urethral secretions with your hands to overflow. Sometimes even a foul odor, watery or white discharge, can be found on the penis.

Chlamydia trachomatis is a relatively small pathogenic microorganism that will adhere to the head of sperm and affect the combined fertilization of sperm and eggs. If it cannot be fertilized, it is naturally impossible to conceive.

Generally speaking, if the symptoms are not severe and the number of chlamydia is not high, as long as the semen test is normal, it does not affect pregnancy. But it can be transmitted to the woman through sexual activity, which affects pregnancy.

After women are infected with Chlamydia, the common site of infection is the cervix, and most women may not have obvious symptoms. Some women may develop acute cervicitis, leading to purulent discharge of the cervix, accompanied by obvious cervical pain, and the cervix may present a significant erosive appearance. A few women may experience frequent urination and urgency symptoms and may experience abdominal pain or even fever.

After infection with Chlamydia, it first disrupts the cervix and then retrograde to the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes, causing inflammation of the endometrium and fallopian tubes. After being infected with Chlamydia, the endometrium may develop inflammation or endometrial polyps and even cause problems such as tubal adhesions, making it difficult for sperm and eggs to see each other, leading to difficulty in pregnancy.

Studies have shown that chlamydia infection can increase the risk of stillbirth and premature birth, so it is recommended that pregnant women undergo routine screening for chlamydia during early pregnancy.

More importantly, if the mother is infected with chlamydia, it is possible to transmit the pathogen vertical transmission to the baby through the birth canal during childbirth. In fact, up to half of babies born through vaginal delivery (and even some babies born through cesarean section) in mothers infected with chlamydia will be co-infected.

Among these infants, 25% to 50% will develop eye infections (conjunctivitis) within days to weeks after birth. 5% to 30% of infants infected with Chlamydia during childbirth may develop Chlamydia pneumonia within a few weeks to months after birth.

There are reports that one-third to one-half of pneumonia cases in children under 6 months old in the United States are due to CT infection. The experiment indicated that 30% of infants younger than 6 months diagnosed with bronchiolitis, bronchopneumonia or pneumonia were infected with Chlamydia trachomatis. Although these infections can be serious, timely baby treatment usually yields better results. Of course, it is best to receive treatment before delivery to prevent the baby from getting infected.

In addition, newborns can also be infected during childbirth when passing through the mother's birth canal, leading to chlamydia conjunctivitis and pneumonia in newborns. Therefore, once Chlamydia is infected, effective treatment is necessary first, and it must be cured before giving birth, which is safer.

If the female partner is negative for chlamydia infection, it does not affect pregnancy.