Vaginal douching and the risk of ectopic pregnancy among black women.

OBJECTIVE

Our goal was to determine whether vaginal douching was associated with ectopic pregnancy among black women and whether specific douching behaviors were associated with differences in risk.

STUDY DESIGN

We analyzed data from a case-control study of ectopic pregnancy conducted between October 1988 and August 1990 at a major public hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Case subjects were 197 black women with surgically confirmed ectopic pregnancies; the control group included 882 black women who were delivered of live or stillborn infants and 237 black women who were seeking to terminate a pregnancy.

RESULTS

The adjusted odds ratio for ectopic pregnancy associated with ever having douched was 3.8 (95% confidence interval 1.6 to 8.9). The risk increased with increasing number of years of douching at least once per month. No douching behavior was found to be without risk; even women who douched for routine cleanliness were at increased risk of ectopic pregnancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Vaginal douching is a modifiable behavior that may greatly increase a woman's risk of ectopic pregnancy.