Vaginal Douching Should be 6 Months Before Pregnancy
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by douching, a girl may even increase her risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Most women douche in an attempt to cleanse the vaginal area. But even this is not a good idea. The vagina has its own natural cleaning system that flushes out bacteria. So not only do the chemicals and perfumes in feminine sprays and douches not help, they can actually cause problems like allergic reactions or infections in the vagina.
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While many women feel cleaner if they douche after menstruation or intercourse, it may actually worsen vaginal discharge because it removes healthy bacteria lining the vagina that are there to protect you from infection. There was no association between reported hygiene behaviours (type and frequency of changing sanitary protection, vaginal douching after sex or during menstruation) and the risk of having an endogenous vaginal infection.Douching may make the spermicide not work as well. If you feel you need to douche, wait at least 6 to 8 hours after you have had sex. Douching is not effective for preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections and it may even cause an infection in the uterus and fallopian tubes.
Most people suggest that douching is generally not a good idea, as the vagina is self-cleaning and douching interferes with the natural bacterial culture of the vagina, and it might spread or introduce infections . For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services strongly discourages douching, warning that it can lead to irritation, bacterial vaginosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease .
Douches may consist of water, water mixed with vinegar, or even antiseptic chemicals. Frequent douching with water may result in an imbalance of the pH of the vagina, and thus may put women at risk for possible vaginal infections.
Antiseptics may result in an imbalance of the natural bacteria in the vagina, also resulting in an increased likelihood of infection. Furthermore, unclean douching equipment may also introduce undesirable foreign bodies into the vagina. For these reasons, the practice of douching is now generally discouraged, unless under medical guidance.
In some countries it is customary for birth attendants routinely to explore the uterine cavity after every delivery, "uterine revision". There is not the slightest evidence that such policy is useful; on the contrary, it can cause infection or mechanical trauma or even shock . The same holds true for another practice, the "lavage of the uterus", the rinsing out or douching of the uterine cavity after delivery.
Recurrence is also common with endogenous vaginal infections, especially when underlying reasons (douching, vaginal drying agents, hormonal contraceptives) are not addressed.Douching can disrupt the normal flora of the vagina and cause overgrowth of other microorganisms (bacterial vaginosis). Use of detergents, disinfectants, and vaginal cleaning or drying agents should be avoided. Cleaning the external genital area with soap and water is sufficient for hygiene.
Preliminary results from a study hint that vaginal douching 6 months before pregnancy, but not during pregnancy, may protect African American women from delivering preterm (before 40 weeks).
Although the number of women douching has declined, about half of African American women still douche. In general, douching is more common among minority and low-income women, which may play a role in the disparities of pregnancy outcomes seen in these women.
As douching can promote infection by introducing bacteria into the cervix, uterus or fallopian tubes, Dr. Dawn P. Misra, of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, and Britton Trabert of the University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle speculated that poorer pregnancy outcome would be seen in the women who douched.
They evaluated 832 African-American women living in Baltimore City, Maryland, who received prenatal care at one of four prenatal clinics at Johns Hopkins, or those who delivered at the affiliated hospital after late, intermittent or no prenatal care.
The women were asked if they douched and, if so, at what age did they started and how often they douched before and during pregnancy.
Overall, 533 women (64.1 percent) reported ever douching. A substantial proportion douched 6 months before pregnancy, while only a small number douched during pregnancy.
Overall, 16.4 percent of women delivered preterm.
Vaginal douching fewer than three times per month in the 6 months before pregnancy was associated with a 37 percent reduced risk of preterm delivery compared with women who never douched. Conversely, women who douched during pregnancy had a trend towards increased risk of preterm delivery.
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