STDs in Hampton Roads and Pregnancy

Pregnant women can still catch the same sexually transmitted diseases as non-pregnant women. Untreated STDs can affect your unborn child. Many STDs can be silent with no symptoms. Be proactive before pregnancy and get tested for STDs. It’s important to also stay on top of your prenatal visits with your doctors and to voice any concerns that you may have.

What and when are you screened for STDs while pregnant in Norfolk or Newport News?

During normal prenatal care, you get screened for sexually transmitted diseases twice during pregnancy. Pregnant women are screened early in pregnancy and later on before labor. During the first prenatal visit, pregnant women will be screened for Hepatitis C and B, HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia. In the third trimester, pregnant women are rescreened for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, HIV, and Hepatitis B.

What are the signs and symptoms of STDs in Hampton Roads while pregnant?

STDs during pregnancy can be more severe for you and your unborn child. The effects of Sexually transmitted diseases on a developing fetus can sometimes be seen immediately. Sometimes the effects can be seen months or years later. STDs can make you go into preterm labor. It can also cause brain damage, eye infection, blindness, deafness, liver disease, low birth rate, and an infection in the babies’ blood. In extreme cases, STDs can cause a baby to be stillborn.

Women can also pass STDs to their unborn babies in three ways. Some STDs cross the placenta and directly affect the unborn child like Syphilis. Secondly, HIV can be passed to your baby in the birth canal and it can cross the placenta. Other STIs can be passed through the birth canal when the baby is born. These STDs include chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, and  hepatitis B.

How to reduce your risk of getting STIs while pregnant?

The best way to reduce your chances of developing an STD while pregnant is your safe sex practices. Abstinence is the easiest way to reduce your risk. It is also recommended that you use a condom the right way each time during vaginal and oral sex. If you choose to have unprotected sex, it is recommended that you only do so in a monogamous relationship with a partner who has tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases.

Testing in Hampton Roads During Pregnancy

Are you thinking about having a baby? Come get tested in Newport News or Norfolk at our MASS STD testing facilities. Schedule your appointment here.