Perinatal infections with Chlamydia trachomatis

Much has been relearned and learned anew about perinatal chlamydial infections during the past 10 to 15 years. The adverse effects of infection on pregnancy outcome have been suggested but not fully documented or explained. Epidemiologic, biologic, and immunologic correlates of risk for infection and complications of pregnancy due to C. trachomatis are not yet fully understood. Increased appreciation of the importance of this organism in pregnancy, coupled with more facile methods for diagnosing infection and with further research using modern molecular techniques, promises to add greatly to the completeness of our knowledge and to our eventual complete control of this infection in pregnancy.