Exact Answer: No definitive waiting period
BV is the medical abbreviation used to connote bacterial vaginosis. This is one of the most common bacterial infections that affect women all over the world. BV is more common than yeast infections in women. The condition is accompanied by white, fishy-smelling vaginal discharge. Some women may also experience pain and itching as symptoms of BV.
Summary
If this condition is left untreated it can cause the entire reproductive system of a woman to become inflamed. This can lead to PID or pelvic inflammatory disease that can in turn cause infertility in women. However, as such BV does not directly interfere with an individual getting pregnant.
How Long After BV Can I Get Pregnant?
BV is a very persistent and widespread virginal infection. It can cause complications during pregnancy but the norms of waiting when one has BV to get pregnant are quite contingent and variable. Since regular intercourse may be necessary to conceive, BV can indirectly affect this timeline.
Regular intercourse that results in pregnancy may be difficult when a woman is showing symptoms of BV because of the vaginal pain associated with the infection. Thus, it is always better to get the infection checked by a medical professional and wait for it to clear out until one can resume her attempts at conception.
The intake of regular antibiotics can help clear BV within a week’s time. Thus, one can go back to trying to conceive after a week of treatment for BV. However, this is only applicable for cases when the woman in question is aware of the infection as she is experiencing its symptoms.
However, if a woman develops BV and yet remains asymptomatic, it will become very difficult to navigate the conception timeline. In such a scenario she will probably continue to engage in sexual intercourse leading to a pregnancy. Here, BV will not affect the pregnancy timeline, but if left untreated, it can cause a second-trimester miscarriage, premature birth, and other complications in the pregnancy.
Thus, if one even suspects that she may have BV it is best to seek medical help immediately because of the rampant nature of the infection. Similarly, if an individual is aware of a past string of such infections she has endured, it is best to take precautions right before she decides to conceive.
In Summary:
| Contingencies | Time Frame of Waiting |
| Aware of the BV Infection | A week |
| Unaware of the BV Infection | No waiting |
Why Do I Have To Wait So Long After BV To Get Pregnant?
The waiting period between contracting the infection, showing symptoms, and conceiving is correlated to the actual manifestation of BV. Again, since regular intercourse during specific days of the month may be needed to conceive, BV can indirectly affect this trajectory.
Sex during a BV infection will be extremely painful. Therefore, the woman in question may have to refrain from it until the infection clears out. This may take a week’s time. However, in some such cases, the monthly window of fertility may also be bypassed within this period. Then the couple must wait for another month for the fertility window to reappear in order to conceive.
Moreover, sexual intercourse during a BV infection is not recommended because it may be transferred to the male partner. Although BV is not considered to be an STI, it can travel to the male partner. It does not affect their health in any way, but once it is transferred to them, they will keep giving it back to the patient in question.
Thus, to engage in safe sex, one must wait till the infection clears out. However, if the person does not know about the infection, she may continue to engage in sexual intercourse and get pregnant. Later on, she may be notified by her doctor of the infection and then get it treated. Thus, it is also possible to get treated for BV while one is pregnant with the infection.
Regular pap smears, using odor-free vaginal products, cutting down on sugar intake, etc. can all help prevent BV especially when a woman is trying to conceive.
Conclusion
BV is one of the most notorious vaginal infections that women have to endure. Oftentimes it may also go undetected if the individual remains asymptomatic. It may only be identified through a pap smear test. Many women are apprehensive about how BV can affect their prospects of getting pregnant.
As such women can be pregnant and have BV. Nonetheless, BV may lead to second-trimester miscarriages in women and increase their risks of infertility. However, generally, if an individual has undiagnosed BV, she does not really have to wait to get pregnant. Especially if the patient is asymptomatic. However, if one knows about the existence of BV, it is better to wait for the infection to clear out.
References
- https://journals.asm.org/doi/abs/10.1128/cmr.4.4.485
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0002937888900786
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