Approximately one in three women will develop bacterial vaginosis symptoms at some point during her life, according to Patient UK health professionals. This infection is caused by an imbalance of naturally occurring bacteria within a woman's vagina. Though this vaginal infection may not cause noticeable symptoms in certain women, affected women are still at risk of developing complications of bacterial vaginosis if they do not receive appropriate treatment.
Pregnancy Complications
Pregnant women with this infection who do not receive treatment for bacterial vaginosis are at an increased risk of experiencing pregnancy complications. Expectant mothers with untreated bacterial vaginosis are more likely than healthy mothers to go into labor prematurely or deliver low-birth-weight infants, warn MayoClinic.com health professionals. Women who are pregnant should be monitored throughout their pregnancies to ensure that medical problems, such as bacterial vaginosis, are promptly detected and resolved.
Surgical Complications
Untreated bacterial vaginosis can increase a woman's risk of developing an infection following vaginal surgical procedures, such as a hysterectomy, explain medical experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Affected women may require additional medication or medical intervention to resolve postsurgical infection symptoms.
Alternate Infection Complications
Bacterial vaginosis can increase a woman's risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, such as HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea or genital herpes, explain medical professionals with UpToDate and Patient UK. An untreated bacterial vaginosis infection can also spread to other reproductive organs within a woman's body, such as the cervix or uterus. If this occurs, women with untreated bacterial vaginosis may be at risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID, as a complication of this vaginal infection.
