Introduction
Screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in pregnancy represents an overlooked opportunity to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes worldwide (1). Although Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most commonly treatable bacterial STI, few countries have routine pregnancy screening and treatment programs for CTinfections in pregnancy (2-4). CT infections in women usually would go undiagnosed since the infections are mostly asymptomatic and poses serious challenges to the management of the disease (4). The majority of infected individuals would report for care in the advanced stage or may report with complications since the infection remain asymptomatic for a long time (5-7)
CT infection has been implicated in several adverse obstetric outcomes; premature rapture of membrane, amnionitis, intrapartum fever, and meconium stained amniotic fluid (8, 9). These adverse pregnancy outcomes have been identified to be associated with neonatal sepsis (10). Similarly, adverse neonatal outcomes that were known to be associated with vertical transmission have also been reported by previous studies as preterm delivery, low birth weight and Apgar score less than 7 at minutes one and five (3, 10, 11). Spontaneous abortion and stillbirth have also been reported to be significantly associated with CT infection (11).
Vertical transmission of diseases occurs at one of these stages: in utero, intrapartum and postpartum. The severity of morbidity and mortality of most vertically transmitted diseases would depend on the gestational age at which the infection was acquired (12). Though vertical transmission of CT has been widely reported, there is paucity of literature on the gestational age at which the infections were transmitted to the fetus or the neonate. The impact of the various routes of transmission on the neonate is not well defined. The aim of the present study is to determine the relationship between trans-placental transmission of CT infection in pregnancy and survival at birth of the fetus.