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    STDs and Pregnancy Fact Sheet

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    Rebecca Richardson
    Yes, pregnant women can become infected with STDs, and the consequences can be more serious for both mother and baby. Many common STDs in pregnant women are asymptomatic. STDs can be passed from mother to baby before, during or after birth, and may cause preterm birth, low birth weight, eye and lung infections, or even stillbirth. STDs can be treated during pregnancy with antibiotics, though viral infections like HIV and herpes cannot be cured. Pregnant women should be tested and treated for STDs to protect their health and that of their babies.

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    STDs and Pregnancy Fact Sheet

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    Rebecca Richardson
    190 views2 pages
    Yes, pregnant women can become infected with STDs, and the consequences can be more serious for both mother and baby. Many common STDs in pregnant women are asymptomatic. STDs can be passed from mother to baby before, during or after birth, and may cause preterm birth, low birth weight, eye and lung infections, or even stillbirth. STDs can be treated during pregnancy with antibiotics, though viral infections like HIV and herpes cannot be cured. Pregnant women should be tested and treated for STDs to protect their health and that of their babies.

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    Yes, pregnant women can become infected with STDs, and the consequences can be more serious for both mother and baby. Many common STDs in pregnant women are asymptomatic. STDs can be passed from mother to baby before, during or after birth, and may cause preterm birth, low birth weight, eye and lung infections, or even stillbirth. STDs can be treated during pregnancy with antibiotics, though viral infections like HIV and herpes cannot be cured. Pregnant women should be tested and treated for STDs to protect their health and that of their babies.

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    190 views2 pages

    STDs and Pregnancy Fact Sheet

    Uploaded by

    Rebecca Richardson
    Yes, pregnant women can become infected with STDs, and the consequences can be more serious for both mother and baby. Many common STDs in pregnant women are asymptomatic. STDs can be passed from mother to baby before, during or after birth, and may cause preterm birth, low birth weight, eye and lung infections, or even stillbirth. STDs can be treated during pregnancy with antibiotics, though viral infections like HIV and herpes cannot be cured. Pregnant women should be tested and treated for STDs to protect their health and that of their babies.

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    CDC Fact Sheet

    STDs & Pregnancy


    Can pregnant women become infected with STDs?
    Yes, women who are pregnant can become infected with the same sexually transmitted diseases
    (STDs) as women who are not pregnant. Pregnancy does not provide women or their babies any
    protection against STDs. The consequences of an STD can be significantly more serious, even life
    threatening, for a woman and her baby if the woman becomes infected with an STD while pregnant.
    It is important that women be aware of the harmful effects of STDs and know how to protect
    themselves and their children against infection.

    g How common are STDs Many STDs in women are silent; that is, without signs
    in pregnant women in the or symptoms.
    United States?
    STDs can be passed from a pregnant woman to the baby
    Some STDs, such as genital herpes and bacterial vaginosis,
    before, during, or after the baby’s birth. Some STDs (like
    are quite common in pregnant women in the United States.
    syphilis) cross the placenta and infect the baby while it is in
    Other STDs, notably HIV and syphilis, are much less
    the uterus (womb). Other STDs (like gonorrhea, chlamydia,
    common in pregnant women. The table below shows the
    hepatitis B, and genital herpes) can be transmitted from
    estimated number of pregnant women in the United States
    the mother to the baby during delivery as the baby passes
    who are infected with specific STDs each year.
    through the birth canal. HIV can cross the placenta during
    Estimated Number pregnancy, infect the baby during the birth process, and unlike
    STDs of Pregnant Women
    most other STDs, can infect the baby through breastfeeding.
    Bacterial vaginosis............................................................. 1,080,000
    Herpes simplex virus 2.........................................................880,000 A pregnant woman with an STD may also have early onset
    Chlamydia................................................................................100,000 of labor, premature rupture of the membranes surrounding
    Trichomoniasis. ......................................................................124,000 the baby in the uterus, and uterine infection after delivery.
    Gonorrhea.................................................................................. 13,200 The harmful effects of STDs in babies may include stillbirth
    Hepatitis B. ................................................................................ 16,000 (a baby that is born dead), low birth weight (less than
    HIV..................................................................................................6,400 five pounds), conjunctivitis (eye infection), pneumonia,
    Syphilis........................................................................................ <1,000 neonatal sepsis (infection in the baby’s blood stream),
    neurologic damage, blindness, deafness, acute hepatitis,
    g How do STDs affect a pregnant meningitis, chronic liver disease, and cirrhosis. Most of
    woman and her baby? these problems can be prevented if the mother receives
    STDs can have many of the same consequences for routine prenatal care, which includes screening tests for
    pregnant women as women who are not pregnant. STDs STDs starting early in pregnancy and repeated close to
    can cause cervical and other cancers, chronic hepatitis, pelvic delivery, if necessary. Other problems can be treated if
    inflammatory disease, infertility, and other complications. the infection is found at birth.
    g Can STDs be treated
    during pregnancy?
    Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis, and bacterial
    vaginosis (BV) can be treated and cured with antibiotics
    during pregnancy. There is no cure for viral STDs, such as
    genital herpes and HIV, but antiviral medication may be
    appropriate for pregnant women with herpes and definitely
    is for those with HIV. For women who have active genital
    herpes lesions at the time of delivery, a cesarean delivery
    (C-section) may be performed to protect the newborn
    against infection. C-section is also an option for some HIV-
    infected women. Women who test negative for hepatitis B,
    may receive the hepatitis B vaccine during pregnancy.

    g How can pregnant women protect


    themselves against infection?
    The surest way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted
    diseases is to abstain from sexual contact, or to be in a
    long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a
    partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.

    Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are


    highly effective in preventing transmission of HIV, the virus
    that causes AIDS. Latex condoms, when used consistently
    and correctly, can reduce the risk of transmission of gonorrhea,
    chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. Correct and consistent use
    of latex condoms can reduce the risk of genital herpes,
    syphilis, and chancroid only when the infected area or site
    of potential exposure is protected by the condom. Correct
    and consistent use of latex condoms may reduce the risk for
    g Should pregnant women
    be tested for STDs? genital human papillomavirus (HPV) and associated diseases
    Yes, STDs affect women of every socioeconomic and (e.g. warts and cervical cancer).
    educational level, age, race, ethnicity, and religion. The
    CDC 2006 Guidelines for Treatment of Sexually Transmitted
    g FOR MORE INFORMATION:
    Diseases recommend that pregnant women be screened
    on their first prenatal visit for STDs which may include: Division of STD Prevention (DSTDP)

    • Chlamydia Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


    • Gonorrhea https://www.cdc.gov/std/
    • Hepatitis B
    • HIV
    • Syphilis CDC-INFO Contact Center

    In addition, some experts recommend that women who have 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)
    had a premature delivery in the past be screened and treated
    Email: [email protected]
    for bacterial vaginosis at the first prenatal visit.

    Pregnant women should ask their doctors about getting


    tested for these STDs, since some doctors do not routinely American Social Health Association (ASHA)
    perform these tests. New and increasingly accurate tests 1-800-783-9877
    continue to become available. Even if a woman has been
    www.ashastd.org
    tested in the past, she should be tested again when she
    becomes pregnant.
    CONTENT UPDATED: DECEMBER, 2007

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