Built syphilis

KEY POINTS

  • When a baby gets syphilis from his female parent during pregnancy, it'southward called congenital syphilis. Congenital means that it's nowadays at nascence.

  • Congenital syphilis is completely preventable.

  • The only mode your baby tin get congenital syphilis is if you have syphilis and laissez passer it to your babe during pregnancy or vaginal nativity.

  • Congenital syphilis can cause serious lifelong health weather for a babe. It also tin can cause a baby's death during pregnancy and after birth.

  • The best way to protect your babe from congenital syphilis is to protect yourself from syphilis before and during pregnancy.

What is congenital syphilis?

Congenital syphilis is when your baby is born infected with syphilis. The only way your babe tin can become built syphilis is if yous take syphilis and pass it to your baby. Nearly of the time, syphilis is passed from mom to baby during pregnancy, but information technology can happen during vaginal nativity if your baby has direct contact with a syphilis sore. Vaginal birth is when contractions in your uterus (womb) help push your baby out through the vagina.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (also chosen STI, sexually transmitted disease or STD). An STI is an infection you can get from having unprotected sex or intimate physical contact with someone who is infected. This means you get information technology from having unprotected sex with a person who is infected with syphilis. Y'all likewise can become syphilis by having directly contact with (touching or kissing) an infected person's syphilis sore. If you have syphilis during pregnancy and don't get treated, you can pass information technology to your baby. If your syphilis isn't treated, it tin cause serious issues for your baby, including death. Up to ii in five babies (40 percent) born to women with untreated syphilis die from the infection.

How can built syphilis affect your baby during and later pregnancy?

Built syphilis can cause complications for your babe during pregnancy and after birth. Your baby may seem healthy at birth, but syphilis may cause health complications later on in life if he doesn't get treated right abroad. Complications depend on how long you were infected with syphilis during pregnancy and if and when you lot got treatment.

Congenital syphilis can cause problems for your infant during pregnancy, including:

  • Miscarriage. Miscarriage is when a baby dies in the womb before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
  • Premature birth. This is nascency that happens likewise soon, earlier 37 weeks of pregnancy.
  • Fetal growth restriction (too chosen growth-restricted, pocket-sized for gestational age or small for appointment) and low birthweight. Fetal growth restriction is when a baby doesn't gain the weight she should before birth. Low birthweight is when a baby is born weighing less than five pounds, viii ounces.
  • Problems with the placenta and the umbilical cord. The placenta grows in your uterus (womb) and supplies your baby with nutrient and oxygen through the umbilical string. Built syphilis may cause the placenta to grow large and the umbilical cord to be swollen, which can cause problems with how they work to support your infant in the womb.
  • Stillbirth. This is when a baby dies in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Built syphilis can cause issues for your baby at birth, also, including:

  • Neonatal death. This is when a baby dies in the first 28 days of life.
  • Fever
  • Problems with the spleen and liver, including jaundice and hepatosplenomegaly. Jaundice is when your infant's pare and the white parts of her eyes expect xanthous. Information technology'due south caused by the build-up of a substance in the blood chosen bilirubin. If your babe has congenital syphilis, her liver may not be developed enough to remove bilirubin on its own. Hepatosplenomegaly is when her liver and spleen are bloated.
  • Anemia. Anemia is when your baby doesn't take plenty healthy crimson blood cells to acquit oxygen to the rest of her body.
  • A rash on her rima oris, genitals (too called sex organs) or anus, or on the bottoms of her anxiety and on her hands and face up.
  • Runny nose
  • Meningitis. This is an infection that causes swelling in the brain and spinal string.

If non treated right away, congenital syphilis can cause problems for your baby later on in life, including:

  • Problems with his bones and joints, including pain, swelling and weather like saber shin, saddle nose and Hutchinson teeth. Saber shin is when your baby's shin (front of the lower leg) is curved out. Saddle nose is when your babe has a flat nose. Hutchinson teeth are teeth that are peg-shaped and far apart from each other.
  • Vision bug
  • Hearing problems
  • Problems with the nervous organization, including having paralyzed arms or legs and seizures. The nervous arrangement includes your infant's encephalon, spinal cord and nerves. It helps your baby move, think and feel. Paralyzed arms and legs means your baby tin't move them. Seizures are when the whole body or parts of the torso motion without control.
  • Developmental delays. Developmental delays are when your child doesn't reach developmental milestones when expected. A developmental milestone is a skill or activity that most children can practice at a sure historic period. Milestones include sitting, walking, talking, having social skills and having thinking skills.

How is congenital syphilis diagnosed in your infant?

At your prenatal care visits, your wellness care provider does blood tests to check you for STIs, including syphilis. If you have syphilis, tell your baby'due south provider virtually any treatment y'all had during pregnancy.

Your baby's provider can use several tests to cheque your babe for congenital syphilis, including:

  • Blood tests
  • Concrete exam
  • Eye exam to check your babe'south vision
  • X-ray. This is a medical test that uses radiation to make a picture of your body on film.
  • Ultrasound. This test uses sound waves and a computer screen to show a moving picture of your babe inside the womb.
  • Spinal tap (likewise called lumbar puncture). For this exam, your baby'due south provider pushes a small needle into your baby's lower back to remove a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid. Cerebrospinal fluid is constitute around the brain and spinal cord. You babe'due south provider sends the fluid for testing at a lab.

How is congenital syphilis treated?

If your baby has built syphilis, her provider treats her with an antibody called penicillin. An antibiotic is a medicine that kills sure infections. Your infant may get penicillin as a shot or through an intravenous line (also chosen IV). An IV is when your baby gets medicine through a needle in her vein in her hand, foot, arm, leg or scalp.

The amount of treatment your baby gets depends on her infection and condition. For some babies, congenital syphilis can be completely cured. For others, they may need treatment for health weather condition caused past the infection. If your babe has built syphilis, information technology's of import that she gets handling right away to help prevent complications. Take your infant to all her medical checkups to brand sure her treatment is working.

Can you lot prevent your baby from having congenital syphilis?

Yes. Built syphilis is completely preventable. You tin can protect your baby from the infection by protecting yourself from the infection. The simply manner for your baby to get infected is by getting information technology from you during pregnancy and birth.

Hither'south how to protect yourself and your baby from syphilis:

  • Don't accept sex. This is the best way to protect yourself from STIs, including syphilis.
  • If you do have sex, take safe sexual practice. Take sex with only one person who doesn't accept other sexual practice partners. If you're not sure if your partner has an STI, use a barrier method of birth control. Barrier methods include male and female condoms and dental dams. A dental dam is a square piece of rubber that tin can help protect you from STIs during oral sex.
  • Get to all your prenatal intendance checkups, fifty-fifty if you're feeling fine. Many cases of syphilis happen in women who don't get regular prenatal intendance. At your prenatal intendance checkups, your provider asks you questions to see if you lot may be at risk for syphilis and other infections that can bear upon your pregnancy. If you lot're at take chances for syphilis, your provider gives y'all a blood test to run across if yous have the infection.
  • Get tested and treated. If yous think y'all may have syphilis, tell your provider right away. He tin test yous for syphilis and begin treatment if yous're infected. The sooner you're treated, the less likely you lot and your baby are to have complications from your infection.
  • Inquire your partner to get tested and treated for syphilis. If yous get treated for syphilis, you're no longer infected. Simply if your partner is infected, you tin can become infected over again. This is chosen reinfection. Inquire your partner to get tested and treated to protect you from infection and reinfection.

Terminal reviewed: March, 2017