Can COVID Increase Infertility Rate In Women?

The increased social and economic burden caused by the novel COVID-19 outbreak is gradually becoming a worrisome issue for the health sector as well, which brings lots of myths along with it.

Still, people are unaware, not sure about inoculation and are avoiding it due to misconceptions and lack of knowledge. Among many myths there is a myth that circulates around the Covid vaccine and women’s fertility to which many people fall prey and do not get vaccinated. Today, many people are hesitating to get jabbed owing to various reasons like the fear of side effects on their fertility potential. It is the need of the hour to bust the myths, stay protected by getting vaccinated and plan their parenthood journey with full assurance.

Fertility problems have been more common among couples of all ages in recent years, which raised the emergence of medical assistance to become parents. As a result, In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) has become a common method of conceiving a child. Therefore comes the time of these falsehoods to be demolished for couples to complete their families effortlessly.

Only after being extensively tested and screened for potential risks of COVID-19 vaccines, their safety has been established without a doubt. There has been no evidence that showed that vaccines have a negative impact on fertility.

To bust the myth that the vaccines impact one’s fertility is played out over and over again, numerous researches have shown that there is no evidence which shows that COVID- 19 vaccines can cause infertility in men and women both. There's been proven results that showed no link between COVID-19 vaccines or miscarriage.

Another myth is that COVID vaccines aren't safe during IVF treatment

IVF treatments have helped couples for more than 40 years, in conceiving when they had lost all hopes. This development in the domain of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) has brought happiness and hope to many lives. Though owing to the pandemic, things have changed and most couples are hesitant to opt such alternatives.

To remove the layer of doubt over the subject, many studies suggested that there has been no documented case of Covid-19 virus transmission during IVF lab treatment neither in the donor nor the recipient. Hence, the chances of the virus affecting moms, or their babies are very low. Hence, delaying your parenthood journey due to these myths should not be an option. As there are already complications leading for women to taking this treatment, delaying it will further put them in a critical position.

Should couples taking treatment take the vaccine?

Given the known risks and severity of COVID-19 disease during pregnancy, vaccination of pregnant women or women attempting pregnancy is recommended, stamped by the studies of World Health Organization (WHO).

Prevention

The pandemic has for sure affected us mentally and physically but as per many studies, it does not affect the reproductive potential of couples. However, it has increased mental pressure on intended couples, to combat that couples can take counselling sessions to reduce their stress and improve their quality of life. Relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation and introducing dietary supplements like Vitamin-c, Vitamin- D in a regular diet can help not just your regular life but your reproductive health as well.

Dr Ila Gupta

Guest Author The author is Senior IVF Consultant and Clinical Director at Ferticity Fertility Clinics, Delhi