Antibiotics and pregnancy conception

[aravind krishnan]

Few Days Back one of my patient came to clinic with a complaint of severe pain in the left posterior region of lower arch .On examination it was found to be due to an infected impacted 3rd molar.
As usual ,antibiotics was prescribed .But patient seemed to be reluctant .She came to me and asked a question "Doc,I am planning to have a baby and we are trying for that.Does antibiotics affect conception ?"

Ans : Antibiotics have no fertility-inducing properties. 
An antibiotic, however, can interfere with the effectiveness of the daily birth control pill that a woman may be taking to prevent pregnancy. This is because the antibiotic may interfere with the way the birth control pill is absorbed. The degree to which this happens varies depending on the kind of antibiotic, the daily dose, and how long it's taken. Recent studies show that the risk of conceiving on antibiotics is actually rather small.
A woman who takes antibiotics continuously, however, should always use a barrier method of birth control