STIs and their influence on your pregnancy

Sexually transmitted infections, today, are a common occurrence amongst people who are sexually active. The number of people contracting these infections is known to be increasing. People today are more open about sharing sexual relationships with multiple partners or tend to change their partner on a frequent basis. Unprotected sexual encounters, also, are a common form of sexual interaction that men and women today have. These factors are the major factors that can lead to contracting of sexually transmitted infections or STIs. Women who are pregnant are, however, more at risk from STIs.

A woman when pregnant becomes more vulnerable towards STIs and these infections can cause harm not only to the mother but the unborn baby as well. The commonly contracted STIs by women during pregnancy include HIV/AIDS, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital warts, hepatitis B and trichomoniasis. Every STI has a different effect on your pregnancy. If a woman who has developed HIV/AIDS, it is highly probable that the infection is passed on to her baby who then gets infected with the infection. A woman who has been infected with genital herpes is considerably safer especially if the infection is not active while giving birth.

However, if you give birth to your baby while the herpes infection is in the active state, it can be easily passed on to your infant. If while pregnant you contract gonorrhoea, it is likely to increase the risk of a miscarriage or preterm delivery. A baby born while the mother is infected with gonorrhoea is at a high risk of developing blindness, joint infection or a life-threatening blood infection. Genital warts at times can grow larger in size because of the hormonal changes during pregnancy to an extent that they can block the birth canal. This can result in you giving birth to your baby through caesarean section.

All STIs can have effects along similar lines on the new born baby if you are pregnant and have contracted an STI. In such cases, you may be given antibiotics or antivirals for treating these infections. Doxycycline is a popular and widely prescribed antibiotic for treating infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea. This antibiotic is a low dosage treatment, which helps in reducing the risk of developing side effects of the pill. Doxycycline tablets are to be taken twice on a daily basis, over a period of seven days. A popular antiviral that is used especially for the treatment of genital warts is Warticon cream.

This antiviral is to be applied on the infected area in a thin layer, which works by inhibiting the ability of the viral cells to produce protein. With the inhibition of this important function, the viral cells are no longer able to spread. Warticon cream provides your natural defence system with enough strength to fight off the infection by itself. Metronidazole is another popular antibiotic which is used for the treatment of bacterial STIs such as bacterial vaginosis and trichomonas vaginalis. You can buy Metronidazole and other antibiotics or antivirals after a consultation with your doctor regarding their suitability for you.