Chlamydia and pregnancy

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium (Opens in new tab) chlamydia trachomatis. It is usually spread during unprotected sex and can affect both males and females.

Chlamydia (Opens in new tab) can cause problems during pregnancy, such as preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (when your baby doesn't grow as well as expected during pregnancy).

Chlamydia is the most common STI in Australia.

Most people with chlamydia are not aware that they have the infection. Untreated chlamydia can cause serious complications. Your baby can also be affected by the infection.

Chlamydia is usually easy to treat if you know you have it — one course of antibiotics (Opens in new tab) is usually enough.

Many people with chlamydia do not have any symptoms. You can carry the infection for many months or years without knowing it.

Females who do have symptoms might notice:

• a change in vaginal discharge (Opens in new tab)
• vaginal bleeding between periods or after sex
• burning or pain when urinating
• abdominal (Opens in new tab) or pelvic pain
• pain during sex (Opens in new tab)

If you are male, you may have some clear discharge from the penis or pain during urination. These symptoms can have a range of causes other than chlamydia.

Chlamydia is caused by an infection with the bacterium chlamydia trachomatis. It is spread through unprotected sex (Opens in new tab) (sex without using a condom (Opens in new tab)) with an infected person.

If you have chlamydia and are pregnant, your baby can become infected during birth.

You should see your doctor if:

• you have any symptoms of chlamydia
• you have had sex with someone who has chlamydia, or who has a history of chlamydia
• you have had sex without using a condom and you are at a higher risk of an STI
• you are pregnant and think you may have chlamydia

Your doctor can diagnose chlamydia by sending a sample of your urine (Opens in new tab) or a swab from your vagina, cervix, anus or throat to the laboratory for testing.

During pregnancy, you have the option of providing the vaginal swab to your doctor yourself. Ask your doctor if this is something you're interested in.

If you are pregnant and under 30 years old, your doctor will discuss screening for chlamydia as part of your routine antenatal tests.

Read about screening tests for STIs (Opens in new tab).

Chlamydia is usually treated with a course of antibiotics. Sometimes, a longer course is needed. During pregnancy, chlamydia is usually treated using an oral antibiotic called azithromycin (Opens in new tab) that is safe for both you and your baby.

It is important to notify anyone you have had unprotected sex with, so they can be tested and treated (if needed). If they have chlamydia, they can infect others, and also reinfect you, even if you have already been treated.

If you are worried your sexual partners will not seek treatment themselves, in some states and territories, you can get them an antibiotics prescription yourself. This is called patient delivered partner therapy (PDPT) (Opens in new tab). Speak with your GP to see if you can access this program in your state or territory.

Your doctor may also recommend:

• a full STI check-up, including HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) (Opens in new tab) and syphilis (Opens in new tab)
• avoiding all sexual contact, even with a condom, for 7 days after starting treatment
• avoiding sex with any partners from the last 6 months until they have been tested and treated
• retesting 4 weeks after treatment in some cases, such as pregnancy
• retesting 3 months after treatment, to check for reinfection

Chlamydia is a nationally notifiable disease (Opens in new tab). This means that if your doctor diagnoses chlamydia, they are legally required to notify the Department of Health (Opens in new tab). This process is used to track cases of chlamydia to find outbreaks and improve healthcare responses. Information that identifies you as an individual, including your name, is not provided to the Department of Health.

Contact tracing

Contact tracing is when you work out who might have been exposed to you while you were infectious. It can help identify people who might be infected, so they can be tested, and can reduce the chance of you being reinfected after treatment.

Your doctor can help you decide who needs to be contacted. You can contact those who need to be informed either personally or anonymously. The website Let Them Know (Opens in new tab) can help you contact partners anonymously.

If you have chlamydia during pregnancy, you are at a higher risk of your waters breaking early and leading to premature birth. Your baby is also at risk of being born with a low birth weight.

If you have chlamydia during birth, your baby can become infected, causing eye infections (conjunctivitis) and pneumonia (Opens in new tab). If your baby is infected, they may need treatment with antibiotics.

Read more about general complications of chlamydia for males and females (Opens in new tab).

You can prevent chlamydia and other STIs by practicing safe sex (Opens in new tab) and using condoms during sex.

Don't have sex with people diagnosed with chlamydia until 7 days after they have completed their antibiotic treatment. If you are taking medicine for chlamydia but your sexual partner is not, you could be reinfected.

Read more about safe sex during pregnancy.

You can also visit these websites for more information:

• Read more on the NSW Health chlamydia fact sheet (Opens in new tab).
• The Sexual Health Quarters (Opens in new tab) educates, informs and empowers people to enjoy good sexual health and relationship wellbeing.

Other languages

Talk. Test. Treat. has a guide with many different sexual health resources (Opens in new tab) translated into different community languages.

For help in your own language, call the Telephone Interpreting Service (TIS) (Opens in new tab) on 131 450 and ask the interpreter to call Sexual Health Quarters on 1800 198 205.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

Better to know (Opens in new tab) provides information about sexually transmissible infections for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.