Safe
Sex & Pregnancy:
Pregnancy
& STD's
AIDS/HIV & Pregnancy
Aids can be transmitted from Mother to infant :
- Intrauterine
(during pregnancy)
- Peripartum
(during birth)
- Breast
feeding
Facts
- During
pregnancy or at birth women can transmit HIV to their fetuses
- Approximately
one-quarter to one-third of all untreated pregnant women infected with
HIV will pass the infection to their babies
- It
can also be spread to babies through the breast milk of infected mothers
What
Do Do
- Treating
pregnant mothers with anti-HIV drugs is very effective in limiting transmission
to infants, but some transmission still occurs.
- The
risk of transmission further diminishes with a Cesarean section.
- If
the drug AZT is taken during pregnancy, the chance of transmitting HIV
to the baby is reduced significantly.
- If
AZT treatment of mothers is combined with cesarean sectioning to deliver
infants, infection rates can be reduced to 1 percent.
Aids
and Babies
Babies
born to mothers infected with HIV may or may not be infected with the virus,
but all share their mothers' antibodies to HIV for several months. If these
babies lack symptoms, a definitive diagnosis of HIV infection using standard
antibody tests cannot be made until after 15 months of age, when babies
are unlikely to still carry their mothers' antibodies and will have produced
their own, if they are infected. New technologies are being used to detect
HIV infection in infants (3 to 15 months). A number of blood tests are being
used to detect the virus in babies younger than 3 months.
Need
more information about AIDS/HIV & Pregnancy? Visit the Sexually
Transmitted Disease Resource Center
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CHLAMYDIA
& Pregnancy
- Chlamydia
infection can cause Pelvic inflammatory Disease
- 9%
of women with PID will have a life-threatening tubal pregnancy
- Tubal
pregnancy is the leading cause of first-trimester, pregnancy-related
deaths in American women
IN
NEWBORNS
Chlamydia
infection during pregnancy can result in neonatal conjunctivitis (eye infection)
usually within the first ten days). Symptoms include:
- a
progressively worsening cough
- congestion
- eye
discharge
-
pneumonia (usually with three to 6 weeks)
- swollen
eyelids
Both
conditions can be treated successfully with antibiotics. Because of the
risks to the newborn routine testing of pregnant women for chlamydial infection
is recommended.
Need
more information about Chlamydia & Pregnancy? Visit the Sexually
Transmitted Disease Resource Center
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GONORRHEA
& Pregnancy
Gonorrhea
is passed from mother to child as the child passes through the birth canal
during delivery, causing eye infections.
Need
more information about Gonorrhea & Pregnancy? Visit the Sexually
Transmitted Disease Resource Center
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SYPHILIS
& Pregnancy
An
infected pregnant woman can pass the Syphilis bacterium to her unborn baby,
which can result in it being born with serious mental and physical problems.
An
untreated pregnant woman with active syphilis will pass the infection to
her unborn child. Of 25% of stillbirth or neonatal death, 40 to 70% will
have syphilis-infected babies. A fetal death taking place after a 20-week
gestation or if the fetus weighs more than 500gms with an untreated mother
at delivery is classified as a syphilitic stillbirth. Hepatitis screening
should be done as well.
Babies
with congenital syphilis can have symptoms at birth, but symptoms can develop
2 weeks to 3 months later and include:
- anemia
- fever
- rashes
- skin
sores
- swollen
liver and spleen
- various
deformities
- weak/hoarse
crying sounds
- yellowish
skin (jaundice)
The
moist sores of congenital syphilis are infectious.
When
infected infants become older children and teenagers, late-stage syphilis
symptoms may occur, including damage to:
- bones
- brain
- eyes
- ears
- teeth
The
rise in infant syphilis death has become a public health concern that warrants
attention.
Need
more information about Syphilis & Pregnancy? Visit the Sexually
Transmitted Disease Resource Center
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HERPES
& Pregnancy
- 20-25%
of pregnant women have genital herpes
- Many
women find that their outbreaks tend to increase as the pregnancy progresses,
probably because of the immune suppression that takes place to prevent
the mother's body from rejecting the fetus
- Many
women who have their first outbreak of genital herpes during pregnancy
do not actually have a new infection, instead, the outbreak is the first
symptomatic recurrence of a long-standing infection
- Between
10 - 14% of women with genital herpes have an active lesion at delivery
(the odds are higher for women who acquire herpes during pregnancy,
and lower for women who have had herpes for more than six years)
- There
is a high risk of transmission if the mother has an active outbreak
because the likelihood of viral shedding during an outbreak is high
- There
is a small risk of transmission from asymptomatic shedding (when the
virus reactivates without causing any symptoms)
- Newly
infected people (whether pregnant or not) have a higher rate of asymptomatic
shedding for roughly a year following a primary episode, and this higher
rate of asymptomatic shedding, plus the lack of antibodies, create the
greater risk for babies whose mothers are infected in the last trimester
- Recurrent
genital herpes presents only a minimal risk in pregnancy, though it
may interfere with the woman's enjoyment of pregnancy
- If
a woman has active herpes at time of delivery, a Cesarean section is
usually performed
- Maternal
illness following a cesarean is approximately 28%, compared with 1.6%
following a vaginal delivery
- Most
women with genital herpes can experience a safe pregnancy and normal
vaginal childbirth
- Women
with a history of genital herpes before becoming pregnant have a low
risk of transmitting the virus to their baby because of antibodies circulating
in her blood which should protect the baby during pregnancy and delivery
There
are two situations in which the developing fetus may be at risk:
- A
severe first episode during the first trimester (12 weeks) of pregnancy,
which can lead to miscarriage.
- A
first episode in the last trimester of pregnancy, when there is a large
amount of virus present and insufficient time for the mother to produce
antibodies to protect the unborn baby
Mothers
who acquire genital herpes in the last few weeks of pregnancy are at the
highest risk of transmitting the virus and if the infection is a true primary
(no previous antibodies to either HSV-1 or HSV-2), and she becomes HSV positive
at the end of pregnancy, the risk of transmission can be as high as 50%.
The risk is also high if she has prior infection with HSV-1 but not HSV-2
t and is infected with herpes in the last few weeks of pregnancy. This is
rare but it may account for almost 50% of all cases of neonatal herpes.
Care
during pregnancy with Herpes
Inform
your doctor/obstetrician:
- If
you or your partner has genital herpes
- When
the male partner has genital herpes and the woman has no evidence of
infection
You
may need to consider:
If
you have an outbreak of genital herpes, be sure to wash your hands before
touching the baby. No extreme precautions are necessary. There is no risk
in:
- breast
feeding
- having
the baby in bed with you
- holding
the baby
An infant with herpes can become very ill causing:
-
eye or throat infections
- damage
to the central nervous system
- mental
retardation
- death
Symptoms
can include:
- blisters
on the body
- lethargy
- poor
feeding
- irritability
- fever
If
any of the above occur take him/her to your pediatrician immediately, instead
of waiting to see whether the situation will improve.
Need
more information about Herpes & Pregnancy? Visit the Sexually
Transmitted Disease Resource Center
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Safe
Sex & Pregnancy:
Further
Advice
Contact your local health care practitioner, the Family Planning Association
or a local Family Planning Clinic. Visit our support
page for a clinic in your area.
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