Does syphilis affect pregnancy?

Pregnant women with syphilis are at risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, or their baby dying shortly after birth. Approximately 40% of babies born to women with untreated syphilis can be stillborn or die as a newborn. Furthermore, babies born with congenital syphilis can suffer from bone damage, severe anemia, enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, nerve problems causing blindness or deafness, meningitis, and skin rashes. Luckily, syphilis can be effectively treated with a penicillin regimen initiated 30 days or more before delivery and it is important that both the mother and their sex partner(s) receive treatment.