Antibiotic eye drops or ointment are recommended for all babies after delivery to prevent eye infection with gonorrhea.
During the birth process, newborns come into contact with the bacteria and other organisms (yeasts) that are living inside the mother’s vagina and on her skin. Most of these organisms are normal and do not cause any harm; however, some can be harmful to the baby, the mother, or both. Two of the harmful organisms are gonorrhea and chlamydia, which are both sexually transmitted diseases.
Both of these organisms can infect the baby’s eyes. In the case of gonorrhea, the infection can cause blindness and must be treated immediately if it develops. The symptoms are those of bacterial pink eye (conjunctivitis), including red eyes, swollen eyelids, and thick, yellow eye discharge.
Since it is such a serious infection, the main effort is to prevent infection in the first place by putting antibiotic or antiseptic drops or ointment in the baby’s eyes. Since some moms may not have been tested for gonorrhea during pregnancy, or may have gotten infected after their last test, all babies must receive treatment to prevent the disease. This has been standard practice for decades, all over the world.
The treatment only prevents gonorrhea; it does not prevent chlamydia (there is currently no known way to prevent the baby from catching chlamydia). Some parents choose not to give their baby the eye treatment if they are 100% sure that the mom does not have gonorrhea.
There is no known side effect from the treatment, other than there are some drops that can irritate the eyes. These are not commonly used in the U.S. anymore.
Unfortunately, gonorrhea is a common infection in the U.S. and many women do not have symptoms.