Intrauterine infection: risk factors and diagnostic problems during pregnancy

• Elena N. Kravchenko
• Larisa V. Kuklina
• Tatyana P. Shevlyukova

Abstract

Intrauterine infections (IUI) are classified as serious diseases of newborns, leading to a serious condition of the child at birth, intrauterine death of the fetus, which determine the level of perinatal mortality. The true frequency of IUI is difficult to establish for a number of reasons, but primarily because of the latent course of infections and the difficulty of diagnosis during pregnancy. The causative agents of these infections can be viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi. Most often, intrauterine infection of the fetus is caused by viral infections, while the range of types of viruses that cause the formation of congenital pathology is constantly growing. The negative impact of infection on the state of the fetoplacental complex largely depends on the gestational age at the time of infection, the type of pathogen, its virulence, the massiveness of seeding, the primacy or secondary nature of the infectious process in a pregnant woman, the routes of infection to the fetus, the prevalence and intensity of the inflammatory process, the severity and nature of changes in the immune response of a pregnant woman. There is an acute question about the relevance of infectious screening and its scope at the pregravid stage, in the diagnosis of ultrasound markers during pregnancy. Primary prevention of maternal infections during pregnancy is an important aspect of IUI prevention.

Keywords:intrauterine infection; congenital infection; pregnancy complications

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