What Are the Implications of Chlamydial Infection During Pregnancy?
Chlamydial infection during pregnancy poses a unique challenge. As in non-pregnant women, most pregnant women with chlamydial infection are without symptoms, so the infection can easily go undetected. However, many uninfected women who are pregnant develop a mucus discharge similar to the discharge that occurs in chlamydia cervicitis (inflammation of the cervix). This adds to the difficulty of diagnosing chlamydia accurately. Pregnant women have a degree of protection against some of the potential complications of chlamydia. For instance, the fetal membranes can help prevent the infection from ascending into the uterus or fallopian tubes. Yet, other complications of chlamydia are specific to pregnancy. Of serious concern is the risk of the infection being transmitted from a mother to her baby during vaginal delivery. When this occurs, it is presumably because the baby comes into contact with the mother’s genital secretions. As a result, the baby may develop an eye infection (conjunctiv
