Sexual health during pregnancy and after birth

Sexual health and pregnancy

Sexually transmissible infections (STIs) like syphilis and gonorrhoea and blood borne viruses (BBVs) like HIV and hepatitis B are passed on through sex or close sexual contact. Some infections and viruses can make it harder for you to get pregnant. Some can pass to your baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding and cause health problems.

Most STIs and BBVs don’t have any symptoms, so it’s important to get tested regularly.

You’ll usually be offered a full sexual health screen for these at your first antenatal appointment. You should have syphilis tests a few times during your pregnancy to stay safe.

Learn more about STIs, symptoms, testing, treatment and safer sex on the Stop The Rise website.

How STIs and BBVs can affect your baby

Untreated STIs and BBVs can increase your baby's risk of:

• being born early
• having a low birth weight
• being stillborn.

They can also cause serious health problems for your baby. Regular testing and being treated during your pregnancy can lower these risks. Early treatment helps protect your baby and may reduce the need for extra care after birth.

Common STIs and BBVs

Syphilis

The number of people with syphilis has increased in Australia and in Queensland. It’s one of the most serious STIs for babies during pregnancy.

Syphilis can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, serious illness, and problems with hearing, vision, bones or brain development. This is why you’ll be tested for syphilis at least 3 times during pregnancy. Antibiotics can clear the infection and reduce the risk of passing it to your baby.

Chlamydia and gonorrhoea

Chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause eye infections and pneumonia in newborns. Taking antibiotics during pregnancy can clear the infection and reduce the risk of passing it to your baby.

Genital herpes

Taking antiviral medicine in late pregnancy lowers the chance of having an outbreak during birth. If needed, your doctor, midwife or obstetrician may recommend a caesarean to reduce the risk to your baby.

HIV

HIV can pass to your baby during birth, but this is very unlikely if you take HIV medicine, and the virus isn't detectable in your blood.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B can be passed to your baby during birth. If you're diagnosed during pregnancy, your care team will plan your treatment and your baby's care to reduce the risk. Your baby will be given vaccines and medicine after birth for extra protection.

Read more about STIs and pregnancy on the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website.

Find out where to get tested on the Stop the Rise website.

Treatment during pregnancy

Most infections can be treated safely during pregnancy. Treatment depends on the type of infection and how far along you are.

Antibiotics or antiviral medicine may be used to clear the infection or lower the risk of passing it to your baby. You might need follow up tests to make sure the infection is gone.

Go to all your appointments and follow up tests. This protects your baby and may reduce the need for extra care after birth. Make sure any partners get tested and treated too, to lower the risk of getting the infection again.

Breastfeeding and STIs and BBVs

It's safe to breastfeed your baby if you have or are being treated for:

• chlamydia
• gonorrhoea
• human papillomavirus (HPV).

Hepatitis

You can safely breastfeed with hepatitis B if your baby has been given both:

• immunoglobin – a medicine given to your baby to fight off the hepatitis B virus
• the course of hepatitis B vaccines.

Hepatitis C is spread through infected blood, not breast milk, so you should express and bottle feed if you have cracked or bleeding nipples.

Read more about breastfeeding with hepatitis B and hepatitis C on the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website.

Syphilis and herpes

Syphilis and herpes can be passed on to your baby through open sores.

You should only breastfeed if:

• you don't have active or open sores on your breast
• active or open sores anywhere else on your body are carefully and fully covered.

If you have sores on your breast, pump or hand express your milk until the sores heal. Throw away the breast milk if open sores touch the milk or the breast pump while pumping.

HIV

Formula feeding is the safest way to feed your baby if you have HIV.

It's possible for HIV to pass from you to your baby through your breast milk even if the virus is undetectable in your blood. The risk is very low, but breastfeeding with HIV isn't recommended in Australia.

If you have HIV and want to breastfeed, talk to your HIV specialist about the safest way to do it. There's also more information on the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website and the Positive Women website.