Effects of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

When a woman has pelvic inflammatory disease, she can develop serious problems with her pelvic organs (fallopian tubes, uterus, and ovaries). And, damage done by pelvic inflammatory disease to the pelvic organs can't be made better. Early treatment can help to prevent the serious problems that pelvic inflammatory disease can cause. The more often a woman has pelvic inflammatory disease, the more likely she is to develop problems.

With pelvic inflammatory disease, bacteria infects the fallopian tubes (or tubes) or causes inflammation of the tubes. This causes normal tissue to turn into scar tissue. Tubes can become totally blocked with scar tissue, causing infertility (not being able to get pregnant). But, tubes do not have to be totally blocked to cause infertility - even a small amount of blockage or damage can keep a woman from getting pregnant. About 1 out of every 5 women with pelvic inflammatory disease becomes infertile. The more often a woman has pelvic inflammatory disease, the greater her chances are of not being able to get pregnant.

A tube that is partly blocked or damaged from scar tissue may cause a fertilized egg to get stuck in the tube. The egg can start to grow inside the tube, like it does when it is in the uterus, or womb. This is called an ectopic pregnancy, which is a pregnancy in the fallopian tube or elsewhere outside the uterus. As it grows, an ectopic pregnancy can cause the tube to rupture, or break open, and cause severe pain, internal bleeding, and even death.

Pelvic inflammatory disease can cause scar tissue to develop not only in the tubes but in other areas of a woman's abdomen. This can cause chronic pelvic pain (pain that last for months or even years). The more often a woman has pelvic inflammatory disease, the more likely she is to become infertile, have an ectopic pregnancy, and develop chronic pelvic pain.