CIGNAL for Congenital Syphilis

The Healthy Start TA & Support Center (TASC) – in partnership with Dr. Divya Mallampati from the University of California San Francisco’s Division of Fetal Medicine and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences – hosted a CIGNAL: Change Ideas to Grow, Nurture, and Lift for Congenital Syphilis webinar for all grantees on Thursday, February 22 from 2-3:30 pm ET. CIGNALs aim to enhance and strengthen the capacity of HS grantees to identify and execute change ideas focused on a specific topic (e.g., Maternal Mortality and Morbidity, Perinatal Mental and Behavioral Health, and Maternal and Child Health in Rural Communities, Hypertension, and Preterm Birth).

This webinar will explored the current public health crisis of congenital syphilis and syphilis in pregnancy and identified relevant change ideas. Over the last two decades, rates of congenital syphilis have risen 10-fold despite recommendations from professional societies and the CDC to routinely test for syphilis in pregnancy. While syphilis is a pressing issue, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, more broadly, is important for all people of reproductive age. Additionally, while pregnancy and postpartum is often a period of intensive health care utilization, it is also a very vulnerable time for many birthing people. As a result, this CIGNAL webinar discussed the role of centering reproductive and sexual health care within the context of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum care.