Eye Treatment

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Currently by law, in Ontario all newborns must receive treatment to prevent an infection of gonorrhea or chlamydia. These infections can get into your baby's eyes during birth, and if not treated, can cause blindness. Shortly after birth, your maternity care provider will apply an ointment to your baby's eyes that contains an antibiotic that helps to prevent eye infections. Although this medication does not harm your baby, your baby can become mildly irritated and experience temporary blurred vision.

The application of this ointment has been questioned and debated by some agencies. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, research evidence does not support this mandatory practice since the agents used in the eye ointment have been shown to be ineffective. For this reason, along with the low rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia infections in the general population, they recommend that the newborn eye ointment treatment should not be required by law. Many countries around the world and provinces within Canada have abandoned this law already.

To read more about the eye ointment treatment for infants, and position statements on this practice by key agencies, please visit the links below.