Will I Infect My Baby?

Expectant mothers who are unwell are right to be worried about infecting their unborn child. Find out more about congenital infections and what you can do to manage it.

- Hairin Rahman

During pregnancy, stress comes in all forms and intensity; sometimes, it is the mother’s existing health concerns and less-than-ideal physical conditions that form the weight of worry in their minds, perhaps compounded by old wives’ tales or “horror stories” gleaned from the experiences of others. To ensure a pregnancy journey that is as smooth as possible, it is important to take stock of your health and conditions that you might have, especially infections and illnesses that could possibly be transmitted to your child, even while still in the womb.

Vertically transmitted infections are also known as congenital infections, where a disease-causing agent gets passed from mother to embryo, foetus or baby during pregnancy or childbirth. One such infection is the cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, which is a common virus that infects people of all ages, and can cause serious health problems when babies are infected before they are born. Once a person becomes infected, the virus establishes lifelong latency and may reactivate intermittently.