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Welcome to the Polk County Health Department
1907 Carpenter Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50314
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515-286-3798
515-286-2033
866-209-1300
HealthDept@polkcountyiowa.gov
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BABIES AND STDS
When a pregnant woman has an STD, it can infect her baby as well. This can happen before birth or while the baby is being born. An infection that is mild in a grown person can make a newborn baby very sick or cause death.

 What if I am planning to get pregnant?
  • If you think that you, or your sex partner, might be infected, go to a doctor or clinic and get tested for STDs. Most STDs can be cured. It is important that you get treated before you get pregnant. Some of the medicines used to treat STDs could affect your baby.

  • HIV/AIDS can’t be cured, but knowing you have HIV (the AIDS virus) can help you decide about not getting pregnant.
What if I am already pregnant?
  • Talk with your doctor about being tested and treated. The medicines used to treat some STDs are different when you are pregnant, because they can affect the baby.
Which STDs affect babies?
  • All sexually transmitted infections/disease can affect a baby.
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