Premature birth remains a leading cause of newborn death, so it is important to reduce any factors that could contribute to early delivery. Fortunately, HPV is preventable. A safe and effective vaccine can be administered before a person becomes sexually active, and it will protect the person against the virus.
What Is HPV?
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. “HPV is so common that nearly every sexually active person will have an infection with HPV at some point,” says Kelly Culwell, MD, a fellowship-trained OB/GYN who specializes in women’s health and contraceptive research. There are more than 100 different strains of HPV, most of which are undetectable and resolve on their own. However, a few strains can cause genital warts while others can cause cervical cancer. “Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by infections with one of the ‘high risk’ strains,” notes Dr. Culwell. “The most common are HPV 16 and 18.”
Study Details
The study, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), examined vaginal samples from pregnant people in the first and third trimesters. Those who were infected with HPV 16 or 18 were three times as likely to have preterm births than those who were not infected. Some of the preterm births occurred spontaneously, while others were scheduled based on medical needs. The researchers found that HPV infection had a similar effect on the risk of preterm birth whether or not the participants had a history of abnormal pap tests. This was the first study to link HPV with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Previous research has shown an association between preterm birth and certain procedures done to treat precancerous cells (like cone biopsy or LEEP). “This most recent study highlights that the cause may be the persistent HPV infection rather than previous procedures,” says Dr. Calwell. The researchers call for further studies investigating the relationship between HPV vaccination status and preterm birth.
Complications of Giving Birth with an STI
Having a sexually transmitted infection at the time of birth may cause problems for your baby. For example, chlamydia infection may cause blindness in a newborn and herpes can cause meningitis. As of now, pregnant people are not often screened for HPV during the gestational period. An active HPV infection may pass from the pregnant person to their newborn, but an inactive infection was not previously thought to be problematic. This study brings to light new complications caused by HPV infection. We now know that HPV increases the risk of preterm birth, whether spontaneous or planned.
Preventing HPV
HPV may lead to cervical cancer or cause genital warts. You can prevent HPV by getting vaccinated. “The quadrivalent HPV vaccine confers protection against wart-causing strains (6 and 11) and the most prevalent cancer-causing genotypes (16 and 18),” says Peace Nwegbo-Banks, MD, an OB/GYN and co-owner of Serenity Women’s Health & MedSpa in Pearland, Texas. Because HPV is so common, it is important to get vaccinated before becoming sexually active. The Centers on Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children get vaccinated at ages 11 or 12. Teens and young adults may also get vaccinated. After age 26, however, the CDC does not recommend vaccination because this age group has generally already been exposed. Pregnant people should not get an HPV vaccine.
