Pregnancy
is a vital stage for the development and growth of your baby. It is a time of
many bodily changes and a time when a woman’s body can be more subject
to infections. Certain infections during pregnancy can be a health risk for
the pregnant woman and her unborn baby. For instance, they may cause miscarriage,
ectopic pregnancy, premature labor, low birth weight, stillbirth, birth defects
and a newborn with the infection. Many of these infections are preventable with
immunizations and treatable. The infections that may potentially cause harm
during pregnancy include:
- Rubella (German measles)
- Chicken pox
- Cytomegalovirus
- Hepatitis B
- Polio
- Group B Streptococcus
- Toxoplasmosis
- Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs):
- HIV
- Chlamydia
- Gonorrhea
- Genital Herpes
- Syphilis
To
protect your health and that of your baby it is important to be well informed
and to seek the necessary care and medical attention to monitor and protect
your pregnancy, which is what prenatal (during pregnancy) care aims to do. Preconception
(before pregnancy) health care complements prenatal care by helping women and
their partners to plan for and ensure a safe and successful pregnancy, birth
and newborn. Both preconception and prenatal care help to identify potential
risks and problems that can harm the woman and the unborn baby, and they attempt
to mitigate them.
The Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network urges you to become
more aware of infections during pregnancy because they can pose a danger to
your health and the health and development of you unborn baby, and seek clinical
advice during the preconception stage and medical care during the prenatal stage.
