'How Unprotected Sex As A teenager Left Me Infertile': 21-Year-Old Bride-To-Be

 

Jodie Watson, from Hartlepool, caught chlamydia five years ago but only recently did she learn that the disease damaged her fallopian tubes, rendering her infertile.
The 21-year-old lady was was undergoing exploratory tests in hospital to find out why she and her fiancé, James Jackson, 30 had been unable to conceive a baby when she was given the devastating news that she was infertile because she had unprotected sex with one partner as a teenager.
She decided to tell her story in the hope that it will help other teenagers to make wise choices and prevent them from making same mistake.
She said: "I was young and I made one foolish mistake that I will pay for forever. That single mistake will haunt me for the rest of my life and I want other young women to know that when they have unprotected sex they are dicing with their future and their fertility. My dreams have been destroyed because of something that happened five years ago but I want to talk about it to stop it happening to anyone else."

Ms Watson thought she was being sensible when she protected herself against pregnancy before sleeping with a partner when she was 16. But after going for an STI test she was told she had contracted chlamydia. She was treated with antibiotics and thought it was over, unaware that the damage had already been done.

 

When she struggled to conceive tests revealed her fallopian tubes were irreversibly damaged and one mistake is now affecting her future dreams of motherhood. Her only hope of a family lies in IVF but as her fiance already has a daughter with an ex-partner, the couple do not qualify for treatment on the NHS.

 

Ms Watson therefore, wants to raise awareness about the dangers of unprotected sex as she says she regrets her decision every day and doesn't want other teenagers to make the same mistake

Ms Watson said: "Every day I regret the decision I made as a teenager but I know there are likely hundreds of other teenagers doing the same and I want to save them this heartbreak. In the meantime I will do what I can to help other women by raising awareness."