Does Testing Positive for Mycoplasma Affect Pregnancy When Trying to Conceive?

Many people associate Mycoplasma with sexually transmitted infections. If you are careful about hygiene but test positive for Mycoplasma before trying to conceive, why is that? Will it affect pregnancy?

can Mycoplasma affect pregnancy

What is Mycoplasma?

Many people do not know what Mycoplasma is. In fact, Mycoplasma is the simplest type of independent living prokaryotic organism that is very small. There are more than ten types of Mycoplasma that can infect humans. The common types found in the female reproductive tract are Mycoplasma hominis (MH), Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU), and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG).

Testing positive for Mycoplasma does not necessarily mean you have an infection!

You may only be a carrier if you test positive for Mycoplasma but have no corresponding clinical symptoms.

Mycoplasma is an opportunistic infection, which means it may not cause disease in certain circumstances and may reside in the body as a carrier microorganism.

If Mycoplasma is in a normal carrier state, the immune system will maintain normal function, and the presence of Mycoplasma in the reproductive tract will not cause adverse pregnancy outcomes. This has been confirmed by foreign research: vaginal and cervical mycoplasma carriers do not increase the incidence of premature birth, premature rupture of membranes, or low birth weight infants.

In other words, if a person is simply positive for mycoplasma without clinical symptoms or other microbial infections, they do not need treatment, but they still need to maintain cleanliness.

What are the hazards of mycoplasma infection?

1. Gynecological inflammation

Among them, cervical inflammation and pelvic inflammation are the most common. Nearly half of the cervical inflammation patients have no symptoms. In the early stage of infection, it often invades the vagina and cervix, causing increased vaginal discharge, mucopurulent secretions with an odor, or mild discomfort in the genital area. Congestion and edema are also common. There is ample evidence that genital mycoplasma is the cause of cervical inflammation, endometritis, salpingitis and obstruction, pelvic inflammation, male genital diseases, and tubal infertility.

2. Urethritis

Mycoplasma is a common pathogenic microorganism in urinary tract infections. Urethritis is the most common type of urinary tract infection caused by mycoplasma, and other types include pyelonephritis. Currently, it is believed that 35% to 50% of non-gonococcal urethritis cases are related to Chlamydia infection, while 20% to 40% are related to Mycoplasma infection, and the remaining causes are unclear.

3. Female infertility

Mycoplasma infection is closely related to female infertility. According to statistics, about 90% of women in infertile couples are infected with Mycoplasma genitalium, while only 22% of normal women can detect Mycoplasma genitalium infection. Mycoplasma genitalium infection often leads to inflammation of the reproductive tract, causing mucosal cell necrosis, loss of ciliary movement function in the fallopian tubes, and inhibition of sperm motility.

4. Chorioamnionitis and premature birth

Mycoplasma genitalium can cause infection in the amniotic cavity. Currently, most clinical studies believe intervention and treatment are unnecessary for patients who test positive for Mycoplasma genitalium in the lower genital tract during pregnancy. However, suppose the upper genital tract sample (cervical secretion) is positive. In that case, it is necessary to suspect that the Mycoplasma genitalium infection has ascended to the uterine cavity, which can cause chorioamnionitis and premature birth, and further treatment is needed.

5. Effects on male semen and assisted reproduction

Studies have shown a correlation between Mycoplasma and sperm motility, but its pathogenicity remains unclear. If both partners have positive Mycoplasma cultures in their reproductive tracts, it does not significantly affect the fertilization rate, abnormal fertilization rate, cleavage rate, clinical pregnancy rate, or miscarriage rate in in vitro fertilization (IVF), and cervical Mycoplasma positivity does not affect the pregnancy outcome of IVF and embryo transfer.

Is treatment necessary for Mycoplasma infection?

1. If both men and women have no urinary and reproductive tract infection symptoms and are only positive for Mycoplasma, they are considered carriers and do not need treatment. After treatment for Mycoplasma infection, symptoms disappear, and only when the laboratory test results are positive should it be considered to become a carrier and there is no need to continue medication treatment.

If a woman is diagnosed with Mycoplasma positive and accompanied by some symptoms, timely treatment is necessary. For the choice of treatment, the herbal medicine Fuyan Pill is a good choice. Sexual partner treatment is also recommended. Men can choose herbal medicine Diuretic and Anti-inflammatory Pill for treatment. During the treatment period, pay attention to avoiding unprotected sexual intercourse.

Our environment is not sterile and constantly exposed to bacteria and viruses. In addition, both partners should undergo comprehensive physical examinations during the preconception period to ensure a smooth and healthy pregnancy.