Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) in Pregnancy

Screening for sexually transmitted diseases is part of routine pregnancy care. STDs can be contracted during vaginal, anal or oral sex. You are at increased risk for a STD if you or your partner have multiple sexual partners, if you have sex without a condom, or if your partner has a STD. If you are at a higher risk you will be tested again in the third trimester so that treatment can be started before delivery. Having an active or untreated infection during pregnancy may be harmful to the baby and increases the risk of the baby contracting the infection at delivery.

Vaccinations

The safety of vaccines used during pregnancy is a critical concern for OB-GYNs and their patients. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) monitors pregnancy-related vaccine safety information through its collaborations with the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and with the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In following the current guidelines for vaccination during pregnancy, our practice offers two vaccines that are important in pregnancy; these are the Tdap vaccine and the influenza vaccine.

Some vaccines cannot be safely given during pregnancy because they contain live viruses. The most pertinent to pregnancy are the rubella and varicella viruses. These vaccines, if needed, will be offered to you postpartum.

Rubella is a virus that can cause serious concerns and fetal malformations if contracted during pregnancy. For this reason, when you are not pregnant anymore, the MMR vaccine will be offered to protect you and any future babies. The varicella virus (chicken pox) can be very serious and even deadly to mothers and babies. If you are not immune to varicella, you will be offered this vaccine to protect you and any future babies. If you know you are not immune to rubella and or varicella, and think you may have been exposed to these viruses, call your doctor right away.

We hope you will be appropriately vaccinated during pregnancy and if necessary, after you deliver. We sincerely hope that you will vaccinate your children, because vaccines are safe, effective, well studied and prevent disease. If you have concerns about vaccine safety, please talk to your healthcare provider.

Influenza (Flu)

Pregnant women are at high risk for complications of influenza including serious illness, hospitalization and death due to significant and necessary changes in the women’s body to grow a baby. Maternal influenza vaccination has been shown to decrease the risk of influenza and its complications among pregnant women and their infants in the first six months of life. For many years, ACOG and the CDC have recommended that every pregnant woman receive a flu shot during any trimester. Multiple published studies, as well as clinical experience, have supported this position that the flu vaccine is safe and effective during pregnancy. Our department and physicians stand by the CDC and ACOG recommendations for the administration of the flu vaccine, and you will be offered this vaccine during flu season.

Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)

The overwhelming majority of illness and death attributable to pertussis infection occurs in infants who are three months and younger. Infants do not begin their own vaccine series against pertussis until approximately two months of age. Because of this gap, there is a window of significant vulnerability for newborns, many of whom contract serious pertussis infections from family members and caregivers, especially their mothers, or older siblings or both. Since 2013, there has been a recommendation that a dose of tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis (Tdap) should be administered during each pregnancy, irrespective of the prior history of receiving Tdap. The recommended timing for maternal Tdap vaccination is between 27 weeks and 36 weeks of gestation. To maximize the maternal antibody response and passive antibody transfer and levels in the newborn, vaccination as early as possible in the 27-36 weeks-of-gestation window is recommended. However, the Tdap vaccine may be safely given at any time during pregnancy. There is no evidence of adverse fetal effects from vaccinating pregnant women with an inactivated virus or bacterial vaccine or toxoid, and a growing body of robust data demonstrate safety of such use. Family members who will be in close contact with your baby should also receive a Tdap vaccine. Our department and physicians stand by the CDC and ACOG recommendations for administration of the Tdap vaccine, and you will be offered this vaccine from 27-36 weeks gestation.