How can STDs affect a woman during pregnancy?
STDs can have many of the same consequences for pregnant women as for women who are not pregnant. STDs can cause cervical and other cancers, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and other complications. Many STDs are silent–or present without symptoms–in women. Among the additional consequences pregnant women may suffer from STDs are early onset of labor, premature rupture of the membranes surrounding the baby in the uterus, and uterine infection after delivery. How can a pregnant woman s baby become infected? STDs can be transmitted from a pregnant woman to the fetus, newborn, or infant before, during, or after birth. Some STDs (like syphilis) cross the placenta and infect the fetus during its development. Other STDs (like gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B, and genital herpes) are transmitted from the mother to the infant as the infant passes through the birth canal. HIV infection can cross the placenta during pregnancy, infect the newborn during the birth process, and, unlike other STDs,
