Antenatal Profile

The antenatal profile also includes tests for infections that make up the TORCH panel: Toxoplasmosis – a parasitic infection that can be passed from mother to baby, which can cause eye and central nervous system infections as well as brain and muscle cysts; ‘Other’ infections that includes syphilis and HIV – syphilis can cause birth defects including low birth weight, deafness and also premature labour and stillborn and whilst HIV infection does not generally cause birth defects, it can be transmitted to the baby if adequate precautions are not taken during pregnancy, delivery and post-partum period; Rubella – if contracted in the pregnancy can cause the infant to develop heart disease, retarded growth, hearing loss, blood disorders, vision problems, or pneumonia; Cytomegalovirus (CMV) – a viral infection that does not normally cause signs of infection at birth, but may have severe problems in infants, such as hearing loss, men-tal retardation, pneumonia, hepatitis, or blood disorders; Herpes simplex virus (HSV) – a common viral infec-tion that often cause “cold sores” affecting the lips and genital herpes and the virus may spread throughout the newborn’s body, attacking vital organs and even if treated, surviving babies may have permanent damage to the central nervous system.