I thought I read somewhere that antibiotic treatment was effective up to 72
hours post-birth in the presence of gonorrhea. Can't find it offhand, but
I'm looking.

In the US, women are tested for STDs at the first prenatal exam (8-12 weeks)
and again at 35-37 weeks. Personally, I find this to be disturbing, and
expensive. Why assume all women are exposed to STDs, and are likely to
expose themselves again during pregnancy, and treat all newborns as an
assumption that the woman has exposed herself during the last 2 weeks of
pregnancy.

It is a shame we are starting out newborns on antibiotics, especially when
the soothing and antibacterial qualities of breastmilk make it a worthy
choice. At least we're not using silver nitrate again, which has been linked
to vision disorders.

Best wishes,
Sam

<<Gloria from Vancouver, BC wrote 

"It's interesting to note that this is a N. American obsession--putting
antibiotics in baby's eyes.  It is not done in England or Australia and
midwives in those countries are mystified by why N. Americans do this
routinely. "
>>

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