Cross-sectional interview study of fertility, pregnancy, and urogenital schistosomiasis in coastal Kenya: Documented treatment in childhood is associated with reduced odds of subfertility among adult women.

The high subfertility rate documented in this pilot study suggests the importance of programs to prevent and treat pelvic infections in their early stages to preclude reproductive tract damage. The available documented treatment data also suggest that early anti-schistosomal treatment may prevent the fertility-damaging effects of urogenital schistosomiasis, and lend support for programs that provide universal treatment of children in S. haematobium-endemic regions.