Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Can I have a vaginal delivery if I have an STD?

Sexually Transmitted Diseases And Pregnancy
Even though you are pregnant, you can still become infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Pregnancy does not offer you or your baby protection from sexually transmitted diseases. If a prenant woman becomes infected with an STD while pregnant, it can be life threatening to both the mother and the unborn baby. It is important that all pregnant women are tested for STS's while pregnant. The list of sexually transmitted diseases continues to grow and it is imperitive that women understand the harmful effects they can cause.

Pregnant women have the same risks involved with an STD. Sexually transmitted diseases can cause cervical cancer and other types of cancers, hepatitis, cirrhosis and other complications. Many of the diseases can be present without even knowing they exist. Pregnant women who suffer from STDs are more likely to experience the early onset of labor, premature rupture of the membranes surrounding the baby in the uterus, and uterine infection after delivery.

A pregnant woman can pass a sexually transmitted disease to the fetus, newborn, or infant before, during, or after birth. There is absolutely no protection for the developing baby. 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, infect an infant as a result of breast-feeding. Harmful effects on the baby may include stillbirth, low birth weight, conjunctivitis (eye infection), pneumonia, neonatal sepsis (infection in the blood stream), neurologic damage (such as brain damage or motor disorder), congenital abnormalities (including blindness, deafness, or other organ damage), acute hepatitis, meningitis, chronic liver disease, and cirrhosis. Some of these consequences may be noticed at birth while others may not be found until months or even years later.

Some STDs are quite common among pregnant women. The most common are genital herpes and bacterial vaginosis. HIV and syphilis are much less common in pregnant women.

STDs	Estimated Number of Pregnant Women
Bacterial vaginosis	800,000
Herpes simplex	800,000
Chlamydia	200,000
Trichomoniasis	80,000
Gonorrhea	40,000
Hepatitis B	40,000
HIV	8,000
Syphilis	8,000

STDs affect women of every socioeconomic and educational level, age, race, ethnicity, and religion. The CDC recommends that pregnant women be screened for the following STDs:

Chlamydia
Gonorrhea
Hepatitis B
HIV
Syphilis

Pregnant women should request these tests specifically because some doctors do not routinely perform them. New and increasingly accurate tests continue to become available. Even if a woman has been tested in the past, she should be tested again when she becomes pregnant.

Some STD's are cureable and others are not. Speak with your doctor if you believe you have an STD. If possible, your healthcare provider can treat your symptoms. Bacterial STDs (like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis) can be treated and cured with antibiotics during pregnancy. There is no cure for viral STDs such as genital herpes and HIV, but antiviral medication for herpes and HIV may reduce symptoms in the pregnant woman. In addition, the risk of passing HIV infection from mother to baby is dramatically reduced by treatment. For women who have active genital herpes lesions at the time of delivery, a cesarean section may be performed to protect the newborn against infection. Although a woman may be monogamous during her pregnancy, she can remain at risk of STDs if her partner is not monogamous. For this reason, she may want to consider consistent and correct use of latex condoms for every act of intercourse. Protection is critical throughout a woman`s pregnancy, including the last trimester when active infection can present a great threat to the health of a woman and her baby.

Comments: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Comments 1 to 15 of about 15.
1

gothic_blood_babe_13@yahoo.com - 431 days ago.
Ebunny- i was miss diagnosed with herpes years ago, went to a new doc when i got pregm Doc #1 told me i had to take valtrex, and might not be able to have a vaginal delivery anyway! i changed doctors for a second opinion and Doc #2 said that unless you have alot of outbreaks, and are having an outbreak at time of deliver, then you could have a normal delivery. I personally would not have taken the Valtrex just because i didnt want to expose my unborn. but make sure you ask alot of questions, and if your doctor doesnt agree with what you want to do find a new doctor!

ebbunny - 431 days ago.
I have been diagnosed with Herpes and have never been pregnant before- looking for someone who has gone through this to know what to expect. I always thought I would just have to have a c-section, but my doc told me that chances are I'll just go on valtrax my last semester and could very well have a normal vaginal delivery. Any one been there, done that?

ily2xoxo - 842 days ago.
anyone here have Herpes simplex and did u have a C-section or vaginal delivery? I am thinking of just having a C-section cuz i dont care if its a 1% chance i dont want any chance at all of my child getting it i dunno im so torn/

ily2xoxo - 842 days ago.
sasha0078 u can get it from having lots of partners or some shit i dunno but ya i have always had that shit dr said my body just produces to much of its own bacteria or something? i didnt get it from being a hoe bag

sasha0078 - 1110 days ago.
I am bored and on bedrest and came across this site. I dont know why they are saying Bacterial Vaginosis is an STD. My sister havent have sex for 7 years because she is single and a christian and yet she sometimes have bacterial vaginosis.

A.A.B - 1111 days ago.
and fyi, acidophilus is safe during pregnancy =]

A.A.B - 1111 days ago.
Bacteria Vaginosis isn't an STD and unless you are a lesbian you cannot infect your male partner, hence the 'VAGinosis'. It comes and goes all on it's own; sugar drinks, spandex thongs/pants, perfumes/soaps etc. there are many different things that can cause BV and all you have to do to get rid of it is wear cotton underwear, stop drinkin sugar drinks, or whatever it is you think that cause it, and it should go away on it's own. I take acidophilus (a probiotic) in pill form to prevent them. It kind of angers me that they classified BV as an STD when in my mind I would consider a yeast infection an STD before I would consider BV.

ms.tosh216 - 1341 days ago.
IT HAPPENED TO ME B4 SO DONT WORRY JUST LET THEM TEST YOU AGAIN.

*dcsfantasticfour - 1358 days ago.
Alright ladies IM EFFING LIVID!!!!! My dr called me and told me I tested positive for Chlamydia!!!! I HAVE NEVER CHEATED ON MY HUBBY EVER!!!! I fully trust my husband and truely believe that he never cheated on me but he totally freaked out on me and doesn't believe I never cheated on him. So he took of and got super drunk and left me at the house literally screaming and crying because I KNOW I didn't do anything wrong.... I honestly think that the clinic made a HORRIBLE mistake and its literally ruining my life. I cant call the DR back till tuesday because of Labor Day weekend, so as of now there are major problems in my relationship. I need help!!! PLEASE has this happened to any of you??? Ive read about how sometimes the chlamydia test can give a fale positive... I honestly think the clinic told me the results of someone else because at first the nurse (who told me on the phone) had me mistaken for someone else. But of course my husband dosen't believe me. Im so depressed and just heartbroken because no matter what I do my husband wont believe me and I have nobody (family are all out of state) and his family is taking his side of course

smurfwxmama - 1531 days ago.
So...turns out it was Lyme Disease and not Syphillus, bout beat his ass when he told me that, I mean seriously who lets doctor run a test if you know it's negative, what kind of message does that send...he's lucky I don't go get a bunch more ticks and stick them on him!! And I've never even seen a tick over here in the UK, much less in my own house!

ParkerNHarpersMom - 1532 days ago.
yikes! I would be so angry if I was being blamed for giving my bf something I KNOW I didn't. good luck!

smurfwxmama - 1544 days ago.
OK so I'm pissed, so much so I've been crying off and on the last 2 hrs....hubby's doc seems to think he has syphillus and he says he would have got it from me, um hello just had a damn baby u think I would be with anyone else, and hello all the tests they do anyways! Then come to find out I called my doc and the one test they didn't have record of was that damn test! So pissed grr! I've never been with anyone since i met my husband, he's admitted to messing around with other girls since we got married and he says it's me...um yeah whatever, I just want to go home and cry myself to sleep but have kiddo's tao take care of....if my test comes back anything other than negative I'm gonna be beating someone's ass!

little1.com - 1635 days ago.
well i wasnt asked but i no they did test me for hiv/syphalis ect so maybe they did test that? some one told me it tests for anything bacterial and most stds are bacterial ? and everything came back ok ? x

aprilraine - 1635 days ago.
little1- I don't know if they test the pee test, but when you get bloodwork done at the beginning they usually ask if you would like to be tested for anything

little1.com - 1635 days ago.
hi sorry if this is a thicko question but...is the pee test (bacterial check) the test they do to check for all these? x