About Congenital Syphilis

Congenital syphilis occurs when women pass syphilis to their babies during pregnancy. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause serious health problems without treatment.

How can congenital syphilis affect my baby?

Congenital syphilis can have major health impacts on your baby. How congenital syphilis affects the health of your baby depends on how long you had syphilis and if—or when—you got treatment for the infection.

Congenital syphilis can cause:

• miscarriage (losing the baby during pregnancy);
• stillbirth (a baby born dead);
• prematurity (a baby born early);
• low weight at birth; or
• death shortly after birth.

Babies born to women with untreated syphilis may be stillborn or die from the infection as a newborn.

Babies born with congenital syphilis can have:

• deformed bones;
• severe anemia (low blood count);
• enlarged liver and spleen;
• jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
• brain and nerve problems, like blindness or deafness;
• meningitis; or
• skin rashes.

Do all babies born with congenital syphilis have signs or symptoms?

No. It is possible that no symptoms of congenital syphilis are evident at birth. However, if your baby does not receive treatment right away, your baby may develop serious health problems. Usually, these health problems develop in the first few weeks after birth, but they can also happen years later.

Babies who do not get treatment for congenital syphilis and develop symptoms later on can die from the infection. They may also be delayed in their development or have seizures.

People who are sexually active can get syphilis, a common, treatable sexually transmitted infection (STI). Women can pass syphilis to their baby during pregnancy.

I am pregnant. How can I keep my baby from getting syphilis?

Your baby will not get congenital syphilis if you do not have syphilis. There are two (2) important things you can do to protect your baby from getting congenital syphilis and the health problems associated with the infection:

• get a syphilis test the first time you see a healthcare provider during pregnancy; and
• reduce your risk of getting syphilis before and during your pregnancy.

If you are sexually active, have an open and honest conversation with your healthcare provider. Ask them if you should get tested for syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Get a syphilis test the first time you see a healthcare provider during pregnancy.

Getting tested and treated for syphilis can prevent serious health complications for you and your baby.

At your first healthcare visit, ask your healthcare provider about getting tested for syphilis. You can discuss:

• any new or unusual physical symptoms you may be experiencing;
• any drugs or medicines you are using;
• whether you have a new sex partner; and
• your risk for syphilis, such as the number of syphilis cases in your area.

This information will allow your healthcare provider to make the appropriate testing recommendations. Some women should get tested again at the beginning of the third trimester and again when their baby is born.

Even if you have been tested for syphilis in the past, you should get tested again when you become pregnant.

Remember that it is possible to get syphilis and not know it. Sometimes, the infection causes no symptoms, only very mild symptoms, or symptoms that mimic other illnesses.

If you are diagnosed with syphilis, you will need treatment right away. It is also important that your sex partner gets treated. Syphilis is curable with the right antibiotics from your healthcare provider. Follow-up testing with your healthcare provider is necessary to make sure your treatment was successful.

Having syphilis once does not protect you from getting it again. Even after successful treatment, you can get syphilis again. For this reason, you must continue to take actions that will reduce your risk of getting a new infection.

Reduce your risk of getting syphilis before and during your pregnancy.

Preventing syphilis if you are sexually active is the best way to prevent congenital syphilis.

The only way to completely avoid sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is to not have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. If you are sexually active, you can do the following things to lower your chances of getting syphilis:

• being in a long-term, mutually-monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested for syphilis and does not have syphilis; and
• using condoms (the right way) every time you have sex.

Condoms prevent the spread of syphilis by preventing contact with a sore; but, sometimes sores occur in areas not covered by a condom. Contact with these sores can still transmit syphilis.

How will my healthcare provider know if my baby has congenital syphilis?

Your healthcare provider must consider several factors to determine if your baby has congenital syphilis. These factors will include the results of your syphilis blood test and whether you received treatment for syphilis during your pregnancy if you were diagnosed with syphilis. Your healthcare provider may also want to test the blood of your baby, perform a physical exam of your baby, or do other tests, such as a spinal tap or radiographs, to determine if your baby has congenital syphilis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has specific recommendations for your healthcare provider on how to evaluate babies born to women who have reactive syphilis tests during pregnancy.

My baby was born with congenital syphilis. Is there a way to treat the infection?

Yes; there is treatment for congenital syphilis. Babies who have congenital syphilis need to be treated right away or they can develop serious health problems. Depending on the results of the medical evaluation of your baby, they may need antibiotics in a hospital for ten (10) days. In some cases, only one (1) injection of antibiotic is needed.

It is also important that babies treated for congenital syphilis get follow-up care to make sure that the treatment worked.