What harm can syphilis during pregnancy bring? How to prevent syphilis during pregnancy

Pregnant syphilis not only affects the health of pregnant women, but also affects the development of the fetus, leading to miscarriage, premature birth, and death. Even if pregnancy can be maintained until delivery, the risk of congenital syphilis in newborns is still high. Although some fetuses develop normally, they may still come into contact with genital lesions and become infected when passing through the birth canal. Data shows that for untreated early pregnant women with syphilis, the survival rate of the fetus is only about 50%, and most fetuses will be congenital syphilis. The fetal survival rate of women with early latent syphilis is around 80%, but more than half of children become congenital syphilis in early childhood.

How to prevent syphilis during pregnancy

1. Women of childbearing age should cooperate with doctors to seize important opportunities and take the following preventive measures for pre pregnancy examinations. Explicit syphilis can be diagnosed through medical history and physical signs. Latent syphilis can only be diagnosed through examination. Latent syphilis is the main cause of pregnancy syphilis. Therefore, women of childbearing age should undergo syphilis serological testing before planning pregnancy. If you find yourself infected with syphilis, you should keep pregnant and receive systematic treatment first. At the same time, the spouse is checked and the pregnancy time is determined under the guidance of a doctor.

2. Within three months of pregnancy, undergo screening and treatment for syphilis. If a pregnant woman is diagnosed with syphilis, it is best to choose abortion. Under the guidance of a doctor, sufficient treatment can also be carried out to expel syphilis. Because before 16 weeks of pregnancy, the nutrition of the fetus is supplied by the chorion, which is composed of two layers of cells and is not easily penetrated by Treponema pallidum. After 16 weeks of pregnancy, due to the gradual atrophy of the trophoblast cells in the placenta, the nutrient supply of the fetus is replaced by the placenta. At this time, Treponema pallidum can smoothly enter the fetus through the placenta. Regardless of whether treatment has been given before pregnancy, in order to ensure that the syphilis in the pregnant woman's body is no longer pathogenic, patients should receive sufficient treatment again after pregnancy.

3. When the test results are suspected to be positive, regular follow-up and treatment should be carried out. If the reaction is positive but the titer is low, false positives (such as autoimmune diseases, connective tissue diseases, viral infections, and non syphilitic spirochete infections) need to be ruled out. In late pregnancy, there are also cases of false positive reactions in syphilis spirochete serum tests. When the cause of false positive reactions cannot be found, pregnant women should receive anti syphilis treatment.