STDs and pregnancy

Sexually transmittable diseases are always a bit of a taboo, and being diagnosed with an STD when you are pregnant is always unpleasant. Ideally, everyone would undergo STD testing before getting pregnant. After all, some women contract an STD even if they were tested at the beginning of a relationship, and you can never be too careful. Some sexually transmittable diseases, like genital warts, pose a risk during birth while others, like HIV, need to be dealt with by extremely competent medical professionals to reduce the risks for your baby during pregnancy. If you have any sexually transmitted disease and are pregnant, you definitely want to know about it. Whether you have any symptoms or not, please get yourself tested for STDs when you are pregnant, if you have not already had it done when you started trying to conceive.

What if, after testing, it turns out that you do have an STD? In most cases, you will immediately offered treatment. Some diseases that could pose real risks if left untreated can actually be cured relatively easily with antibiotics. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis fall into this group. These can all result in miscarriage, early labor, and pregnancy complications so the sooner you get treated the better. Genital warts can also be transmitted to your baby during birth, so laser treatment in pregnancy is recommended. If you have genital herpes in pregnancy, the concerns that it can be transmitted to your baby might result in a cesarean, in particular for women who have a primary outbreak in the third trimester. Women with HIV face complex problems in pregnancy, and definitely need antiviral medications. If you have been infected by Hepatitis B, you might be treated with the Hep B vaccine. Any sexually transmitted disease needs to be taken very seriously, so once again, please get tested.