Infections in Pregnancy

In pregnancy, infections are a common complication—but women may not have obvious symptoms, or they may show different symptoms of an infection.

Group B streptococcus (strep) is a type of bacteria. It can be found in the digestive tract, urinary tract, and genital area of adults. About 1 in 4 pregnant women carry GBS in their rectum or vagina. During pregnancy, the mother can pass the infection to the baby. The fetus can get GBS during pregnancy. Newborns can get it from the mother's genital tract during delivery.

You've probably been warned not to eat brie cheese or order your steak cooked to anything less than medium. Why do you have to take these precautions? Listeriosis. Learn more about this food-borne illness and how to prevent it.

Toxoplasmosis is not only harmful to moms-to-be, but also to their unborn babies. If you haven't heard of toxoplasmosis, you'll definitely want to brush up on this new word.

It's important not to get genital herpes during pregnancy. A first episode during pregnancy raises the risk of passing the disease on to your baby.

A mother with HIV can pass the virus to her baby during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and breastfeeding.

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a very common health complication of pregnancy. Untreated, a UTI can cause serious problems in pregnancy.

Chorioamnionitis [chor-y-oh-am-nee-oh-NY-tis] is an infection of the placenta and the amniotic fluid. Only a few women get it. But it is a common cause of preterm labor and delivery.

An infant or young child who contracts hepatitis B is at greater risk of staying infected with the virus and of having life-long liver problems, such as scarring of the liver and liver cancer.

To prevent infection during pregnancy, you need to protect yourself from mosquitoes and use protection during any sexual activity.