Roundworms strangely make women more fertile

Worm-infected women have an average of two more children
Many women in the world want children, but have problems getting pregnant. There are a lot of factors that influence successful fertilization. Sometimes women try for years to get a child in vain. Now, researchers have discovered a worm that apparently makes it easier for women to develop a pregnancy, researchers from the University of California said.
Is it possible that the infection with one of the most common parasitic worms increases the chances of getting pregnant? In the Amazon rainforest, many indigenous women are infected with a giant roundworm. Now, scientists found that these women had born on average two additional children. A study over nine years brought interesting results and has now been published in the journal "Science".

Tapeworms as a pregnancy guarantor? Image: Juan Gärtner - fotolia

Worm changes the immune system of women
The widespread intestinal worm (Ascaris lumbricoides) can change the immune system of women. This process in the body makes it easier for women to get pregnant, the doctors said. The parasite triggers some changes in the immune system, which otherwise occur during pregnancy. It is really very surprising that infection with this particular type of worm helps to improve fertility, said scientist Prof. Allan Pacey in a statement.

About seventy percent of the indigenous population in Bolivia is infected with parasite
For the purpose of the study, 986 indigenous women were examined in Bolivia. It has been found that about seventy percent of the Tsimane population is infected with a parasitic worm. An average Tsimane woman has nine children. However, when women were infected with Ascaris lumbricoides they tended to have two more children. The parasite can grow up to 36 centimeters and causes the time between pregnancies to be shortened. In addition, the worm lowers the age in which women can get pregnant for the first time. The scientists suspect that the worms support the conception and implantation of the embryo in the uterus and reduce inflammation.

Future fertility treatments with worms?
The effects of an infection are unexpectedly large, said one of the participating researchers Prof. Aaron Blackwell. Presumably, the parasite changes the immune system of the women and this has the consequence that in the body a pregnancy can be triggered more easily. Fertility treatment with worms is a fascinating option, but there is still a lot of work to be done before the first affected person can be treated with parasites, the physician added. The study also found that hookworms had the opposite effect on fertility. Infected give birth in their lives about three children less. (As)