From Our Blog
What Are the Risks of Untreated STIs During Pregnancy?
Pregnancy is a significant health event. Your body experiences hormonal shifts and physical changes that require medical supervision and ongoing testing. One of the first prenatal tests is typically for multiple STIs because they threaten your and your developing pregnancy’s health.
Continue reading to learn the risks of untreated STIs during pregnancy, and schedule an STI testing appointment at Woman’s New Life Clinic.
The Risks of Untreated STIs
Pregnant or not, STIs pose severe risks to your long-term and reproductive health. If you’re sexually active, you should receive screening.
Different STIs range in severity; many are curable, while others are manageable. Some can also cause permanent damage the longer they remain untreated, so timely testing matters.
An untreated STI can lead to the following complications in women:
- Chronic pelvic pain
- Ectopic Pregnancy
- Infertility
- Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
If you have syphilis, this can damage your organs and nervous system. HIV can lead to AIDS. You also risk spreading STIs to your partners.
STIs During Pregnancy
STIs can have devastating consequences for pregnancies. If you are planning to parent or place your child for adoption, an untreated STI could lead to complications, such as premature rupture of membranes (when your water breaks before your body is ready for labor), preterm labor, and low birth weight.
How Specific STIs Impact Pregnancy and Newborns
Each untreated STI can present unique risks to the developing fetus or newborn.
Chlamydia can cause newborns exposed to the infection to develop pink eye and pneumonia.
Genital herpes can put your newborn at risk of blindness, brain damage, skin infections, and even death. Babies exposed to gonorrhea can develop blindness, blood infections, eye infections, and joint infections.