Why Checking Your Vaginal Microbiome Could Be the Missing Piece in Your Fertility Journey
- Nicola Court
- Apr 13
- 2 min read
Trying to conceive can be an emotional and often extremely frustrating journey, especially when faced with unexplained infertility or recurrent miscarriage. While many factors contribute to fertility—hormones, ovulation, immunology issues, sperm health—one regularly overlooked aspect by practitioners and women in general, is the vaginal microbiome.
An imbalance in vaginal bacteria or the presence of harmful pathogens can impact conception, implantation, and even pregnancy outcomes. That’s why testing your vaginal microbiome could be a game-changer in your fertility journey.
The Vaginal Microbiome: A Key Player in Fertility
Lactobacillus is beneficial to a healthy vaginal microbiome and ideally should dominate! It maintain an acidic pH and protect against infections. However, when harmful bacteria (like Gardnerella vaginalis, Prevotella bivia, or Atopobium vaginae) or yeast overgrowth (Candida species) take over, it can lead to:
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) – Linked to higher rates of infertility, IVF failure, and miscarriage.
Chronic Inflammation – Disrupts the delicate uterine environment needed for implantation.
Increased Risk of Infection – Pathogens like Ureaplasma, Mycoplasma, or Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Strep) may contribute to pregnancy complications.
Even subtle imbalances—without obvious symptoms—can interfere with reproductive health.
How Testing Can Help
As a practitioner i order tests from either Invivo or Screen Me - and their Vaginal microbiome tests, which through a simple (at home) swab, provide detailed analysis of your vaginal microbiome, measuring
✅ Microbial markers, including key bacteria and yeast species
✅ Host inflammatory markers to assess immune response
✅ Vaginal pH levels
This test helps identify:
Insufficient protective Lactobacillus strains (L. crispatus, L. jensenii, L. gasseri)
Overgrowth of harmful bacteria linked to BV or aerobic vaginitis
Presence of stealth pathogens (Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma)
Yeast/fungal imbalances (Candida species)
What You Can Do Next
If your test reveals imbalances, targeted treatments—such as probiotics, antimicrobial herbs, or pH-balancing therapies—can help restore a healthy microbiome. Working with a combination of specialists gives the ideal personalized approach to improve your vaginal and reproductive health.
As a practitioner, i regularly work with functional medicine practitioners as a multi pronged approach gives the best outcome for you!
You can order a test through my shop or email me to discuss this further
(Screen Me would be the more comprehensive test)
How to Maintain a Healthy Microbiome & Specifically Prevent BV
For Women
✅ Support vaginal microbiome health with probiotics, prebiotic-rich foods, and a balanced diet.
✅ Prevent imbalance through lifestyle, such as avoid douching or fragranced soaps.
✅ Use lubricants that are microbiome friendly and condoms to protect against pH disruption.
✅ Get microbiome testing to personalise your vaginal health strategy.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been struggling to conceive or have experienced recurrent pregnancy loss, your vaginal microbiome could hold important clues.
Testing provides answers and actionable steps—because sometimes, the smallest changes make the biggest difference.
Here are the before and after results (from Screen me) of a real client who has spent 6 months repairing her vaginal microbiome with herbal medicine, acupuncture, vaginal probiotics and a diet change in readiness for her IVF treatment. This lady had been suffering for YEARS with BV (bacterial vaginosis) and had countless doses of antibiotics.
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