What is ureaplasma? What you need to know about the bacteria linked to infertility. - Yahoo Life
The road to parenthood can be complicated, and no two pregnancy journeys are alike. Jessie James Decker's sister Sydney Rae Bass, who has two children and is married to the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass, just went viral on Instagram after opening up about her four-year struggle with secondary infertility as they were trying to conceive another child — and the surprising way she says she ended up getting pregnant.
"This summer we went to lunch with some of Anthony's friends," Bass wrote alongside a photo of herself showing off a tiny baby bump. "The wife and I ended up on the topic of infertility. She told me how they had struggled to get pregnant and started to tell me about a bacteria called ureaplasma and how it can cause infertility."
Bass says she "immediately" emailed her doctor's office and asked to be tested. "I had zero symptoms for it but I did have some of the side effects: preemie, preemie with lung issues, endometriosis and infertility," she wrote. "So I got tested and I was positive!! Anthony and I both took an antibiotic — first round didn't clear it. So we did a second round of antibiotics and finally my test came back negative."
Bass shared she "wanted to be realistic" after she got a negative test for ureaplasma, noting that "time had passed, I didn't cry over not being able to get pregnant anymore and now I was fearful of my new hope." Bass wrote that she and her husband met with a fertility specialist to make sure that nothing else could be causing their infertility.
"Everything was great! Nothing was wrong, they told me NOPE ureaplasma doesn't cause infertility, that's not it and a great next step is IVF," she wrote. "I got in the car and felt so defeated and frustrated. I had so much hope that ureaplasma was what was causing my infertility and I now knew two women who got pregnant a few months after being clear of ureaplasma but this doctor smashed my hope." Still, she says, she decided to track her ovulation during the third month that she tested negative for ureaplasma.
"Finally, after four years of unexplained secondary infertility, I got a positive test and am now pregnant," she added. Bass also included this message for followers: "It doesn't hurt to get tested if you've been struggling to conceive."
Ureaplasma isn't a bacteria most people are familiar with, and it's understandable to have questions about it — particularly if you're dealing with infertility. Here's what you need to know.
What is ureaplasma?
Ureaplasma is a type of bacteria that is commonly part of the normal bacterial makeup of the genital tract, Dr. Michelle DallaPiazza, an infectious disease physician at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, tells Yahoo Life. "In rare cases, it has been associated with genital and urinary infections, particularly in people who have impaired immune systems or who have undergone urinary or reproductive tract surgeries," she says.
Ureaplasma has also been linked with bacterial vaginosis, a form of vaginal inflammation caused by the overgrowth of bacteria naturally found in the vagina, DallaPiazza says.
What causes ureaplasma?
Ureaplasma can enter the body through the urethra or vagina, where it can then cause infection, Dr. S. Adam Ramin, a urologist and medical director of Urology Cancer Specialists in Los Angeles, tells Yahoo Life. It's usually transmitted by sexual contact, he says. It can also spread from mothers to their unborn babies during pregnancy.
What are the symptoms of ureaplasma?
It depends. "Most people with ureaplasma in the urinary or reproductive tracts would have no symptoms, because the bacteria do not cause disease in most cases," DallaPiazza says. However, when ureaplasma causes an infection, it can have symptoms that are similar to vaginitis (inflammation of the vagina) or a urinary tract infection, she says.
"In many cases, ureaplasma may be present in the reproductive tract, and the person may be completely asymptomatic," Dr. Asima Ahmad, chief medical officer, reproductive endocrinologist and co-founder of Carrot Fertility, tells Yahoo Life. "In other cases, a person may have symptoms of pain, abnormal discharge or an odor to their discharge."
How does ureaplasma impact fertility?
"Some data suggest ureaplasma may play a role in impacting one's fertility," Ahmad says. "However, it is also commonly found in healthy, fertile individuals without any symptoms." Because of this, it's not clear why ureaplasma could potentially impact some people and not others, she says.
"There is some evidence that the presence of ureaplasma in sperm can lower sperm quality and count," DallaPiazza says. "For pregnant people who develop ureaplasma infection in the amniotic fluid, it can lead to preterm labor, low birth weight and miscarriage."
In men, untreated ureaplasma can travel up the urethra into the testicles, where it may cause an infection, Ramin says. "Those infections can cause damage to the testicles and thereby lower sperm production," he says.
In women, ureaplasma can move into the ovaries and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a condition that makes it difficult to become pregnant or remain pregnant, Ramin says.
How is ureaplasma detected and treated?
People are usually tested for ureaplasma when they have persistent symptoms of a vaginal infection or urinary tract infection (UTI), Ramin says. "We would have to take samples and do cultures to determine if there is ureaplasma or not," he says.
But, if you don't have symptoms, it's unlikely that ureaplasma will be detected. "Because it is so commonly found in cases of healthy individuals, and given conflicting data and lack of good prospective studies, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) does not recommend routinely testing for this pathogen in cases of recurrent pregnancy loss," Ahmad says.
DallaPiazza agrees. "Since they so rarely cause disease, doctors do not routinely test for them," she says. However, if you're dealing with infertility, you can certainly ask your doctor to test you for ureaplasma, as Bass did.
If you test positive for ureaplasma, you'll likely be prescribed antibiotics such as doxycycline to clear it up, Ahmad says. Typically, you'll take the medication for seven to 14 days and then should be clear of the infection, DallaPiazza says.
If you're dealing with infertility, doctors say it's difficult to attribute it to ureaplasma, given the lack of data around it and given how often the bacteria are found in healthy people with no fertility issues. However, it's definitely worth looking into if you're struggling to conceive and nothing else has worked.
Bass ended her post on this note: "I know it won't be everyone's answer but I hope it helps some. We are just so thankful for all the prayers, our friends who told us about this bacteria and our little miracle baby."
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