A support group has claimed that an increase in the incidence of sexually-transmitted diseased (STDs) will lead to more couples suffering from infertility problems.

One in six couples experience fertility problems, and this figure is set to rise, according to the National Infertility Support and Information Group (NISIG).

"STDs are going to have a huge impact on couples that are trying to have babies in later life. My concern especially applies to women and men in their 20s who are contracting STDs from unprotected sex," said Helen Browne, co-founder and chairperson of NISIG.

NISIG has urged young people to be extra careful and not have unprotected sex, as STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea can leave people infertile.

"The amount of women struggling to conceive will begin to surge over the next few years due to STDs and infections in the younger years. The number of young women contracting chlamydia, which is the number one disease affecting a woman's chance to conceive, is on the rise rapidly," Helen Browne said.

NISIG is recommending chlamydia screening for all sexually active women aged 25 and under. This is because if chlamydia is untreated there is a 10-15% chance that women could develop pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This disease most commonly develops in sexually active women between the ages of 15-24 years old.

The support group says chlamydia can also cause infections in the fallopian tube without any symptoms being shown, so women can go months with the disease untreated. This silent infection can lead to permanent damage to a woman's uterus and fallopian tubes.

Helen says:"Fertility problems and not being able to conceive a child can be mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting, so for hopeful parents to only discover they can't have children because of an STI they contracted at a younger age is absolutely heart-breaking."

NISIG is suggesting more education is needed into this area as young people, both male and female, don't realise the risk and harm they are doing to themselves by contracting sexual transmitted diseases through unprotected sex.

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