Can i douche during pregnancy

Women who douche, do so because they feel that it helps eliminate odors, but according to Dr. By douching, you flush out the normal, healthy microbes and temporarily change the pH of the vagina, creating an easier environment for infections to develop. Your douching may actually be the cause of the odor you are trying to eliminate. Vaginal douching can also cause serious problems during your pregnancy.

A study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women who douche during pregnancy have an increased risk of preterm labor.

The Office on Women's Health also noted that douching prior to pregnancy can damage fallopian tubes and increase a woman's risk for ectopic pregnancy. Regardless how you feel about douching in general, you should not douche if you are trying to get pregnant or you are pregnant. Here are six good reasons. Image credit: focusedcapture. Your email address will not be published.

July 31, 0 comment. You might wonder why anyone would still douche. In a study published earlier this year, researchers asked Los Angeles women whether they douched and, if so, why. They found that 6 out of 10 African-American women reported having douched in the previous year, compared to 4 out of 10 white or Latina women, echoing previous studies that showed African-American women were more likely to douche than white or Latina women.

The African-American women were also more likely to report that they learned about douching from their mothers. Most of the women in that Los Angeles study who douched told researchers that they felt it was necessary for good hygiene.

The problem is that douching disturbs the normal balance of good and bad bacteria in the vagina. Your vagina is designed to naturally maintain a healthy pH balance. If you remove or greatly reduce the number of healthy bacteria in your vagina, problematic bacteria may flourish. That can lead to infections, irritations, and more serious complications. You could end up dealing with complications that can be quite severe. These include:. Women who douche regularly are more likely to experience early childbirth, miscarriage, and other pregnancy complications.

Using a douche can also lead to an ectopic pregnancy, and women who use douches may have a difficult time getting pregnant. A healthy balance of bacteria prevents vaginal yeast from overgrowing. Eliminating the natural balance may let yeast flourish.

This can lead to a yeast infection. Some women use douches hoping that washing the vagina will eliminate a vaginal infection. Douching may make an infection worse.

Douching while you have a vaginal infection may also spread the infection to other parts of your reproductive system. Pelvic inflammatory disease PID is an infection that develops in the reproductive organs. One in eight women with a history of PID have difficulty getting pregnant. Cervicitis is inflammation of the cervix. Like PID, cervicitis is often the result of STIs, but women who douche are also more likely to develop this condition. The easiest way to clean your vagina is to perform a simple wash during a bath or shower.