What Happens
Trichomoniasis (trich) infection is spread by having unprotected sex with an infected partner. Many women and most men do not have any symptoms of trich. If symptoms appear, they usually start within 1 week of being infected but can start from 1 to 6 months after being infected. In most cases, trich should be treated to prevent transmitting this STD to others and to prevent some problems that can happen if you are pregnant. You and your sex partner(s) should be treated for trich at the same time, to avoid reinfecting each other.
In rare cases, it may be possible to get trich by coming in contact with an object (such as a wet towel) that a person who has trich has just used. The trich organism cannot live on objects for long, so trich is not usually spread this way.
Trich during pregnancy raises the risk of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and premature delivery. Treating the infection does not appear to reduce this risk.2 If you are pregnant and have trich, talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of treatment.
Trich may be transmitted from a mother to her baby during a vaginal delivery, but this is rare.
