Women with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can infect their babies before, during or after birth. Some STDs like syphilis cross the placenta, infecting the fetus while it is in the uterus. Others like herpes, gonorrhea and chlamydia can be transmitted during delivery as the baby passes through the birth canal (vagina). In addition, HIV can infect the baby during breastfeeding.

Infection with an STD can cause a number of serious complications for a baby, including:

• Eye disorders, including conjunctivitis (“pink eye”) and blindness
  
  
• Deafness
  
  
• Bone deformities
  
  
• Mental retardation
  
  
• Stillbirth
  
  
• Low birth weight (less than five pounds, 8 ounces, or 2,500 grams)
  
  
• Pneumonia
  
  
• Liver disorders, including acute hepatitis, cirrhosis and chronic liver disease
  
  
• Neonatal sepsis (bacterial infection in the bloodstream)
  
  
• Neurologic damage (e.g., brain damage, lack of coordination)
  
  
• Meningitis (an infection that causes inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord)
  
  
• Death

A pregnant woman with an STD may also experience early onset of labor, premature rupture of the membranes surrounding the baby in the uterus and uterine infection after delivery. In addition, women who contract an STD around the time of pregnancy appear to be at increased risk of having a child that will develop leukemia (cancer of the blood and bone marrow), according to recent findings. More research needs to be done to confirm this link. Many of these complications can be prevented when the mother’s disease is detected before birth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all pregnant women be screened for STDs on their first prenatal visit to an obstetrician-gynecologist (ObGyn). Some conditions may be successfully treated if the disease is found in the baby soon after birth.