What does the data suggest about newborn eye antibiotics if you are certain you and your partner do not have STIs? Our OB said we should still do them (as does the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) because of other bacteria that are in the vagina that can cause the disease of concern, but my scan of the evidence does not find anything suggesting that the antibiotics help with the non-STI bacteria. We go in for induction in about 12 hours, so hoping this helps future births!
—Robin
The reason for eye antibiotics is that bacteria in the vaginal canal can cause an infection that could result in child blindness. By far the most common sources of this are gonorrhea and chlamydia. If you do not have those, the risks are much, much smaller.
It is possible, in principle, that other bacteria (like E. coli) could cause this issue. It is for this reason, and the fact that there is no reason to think the antibiotics are risky, that they’re recommended for everyone. Having said that, for people who do not have STIs, this recommendation is pretty light and tends to be easy to decline. The risks from other bacteria are likely to be quite small — theoretical, but not something we see much of in the data.
If you had a C-section, there is no reason to get the antibiotics.
I hope the induction went well, and congratulations!
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