Experts recommend that every woman planning to conceive be screened for all STD’s.
Untreated, Chlamydia can lead to ectopic
pregnancy. If a normal pregnancy is achieved, the
baby may get the disease during a vaginal
delivery; an eye infection or other complications can result. Infected women have a greater risk of uterine infection, which can delay recovery from childbirth. If a woman is diagnosed with Chlamydia during pregnancy, she can be safely treated with penecilin.
Pregnant women with
herpes may pass the virus to the baby during
birth, whether or not open sores are present. In newborns the herpes virus can cause
blindness, mental retardation, even death. Although some doctors will perform a vaginal delivery in the absence of open sores, others insist on a cesarean delivery. The safety of the herpes drug acyclovir has not been established in pregnant women.
In rare cases, genital warts may become so enlarged during pregnancy that they block the birth canal, making cesarean delivery necessary. Genital warts can be safely frozen off during pregnancy.
A woman with gonorrhea can infect her baby during delivery. Since blindness may result, newborns’ eyes are routinely treated with medication, whether or not either parent has gonorrhea.
If not treated before pregnancy, syphilis may be passed to the fetus via the mother’s bloodstream, potentially causing blindness, brain
damage or death, in utero or after birth. But if a woman is treated anywhere between conception through the fourth month, long-term damage to the baby is unlikely. After this period, treatment will halt but not reverse any damage that occurs.
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